by BECKY GOFF
Little Apple Post
RILEY COUNTY - Early this week, the Riley County Board of County Commissioners approved the distribution of two surveys to gauge public and employee interest in new operational hours for the county.
Members of the public and employee have until 5:00 p.m. on Friday, June 30th to answer the two-question survey.
Surveys can be completed at all county customer service points and on the county's website, RileyCountyKS.gov.
Current employees received the survey in their internal email on Monday.
The proposed change to the work week would expand the customer service hours to 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on Monday through Thursday, and all county offices would be closed on Fridays.
Customers would have more opportunities to access services before and after the typical workday without costing taxpayers more money.
With the proposed schedule, employees will continue to work a 40-hour workweek, working a 4/10 workweek.
“It is important to remember the expanded hours do not cost the taxpayer anything as there is no reduction in service hours, no additional staff or compensation, and no additional annual leave being paid,” said Vivienne Leyva, Public Information Officer.
Several Riley County departments already operate on a 4/10 workweek and have found the schedule to be efficient.
“What we really find beneficial is the savings in drivetime to the job site – we can get a lot more done in four days than we did in five because we waste less time driving back and forth,” said Michael Boller, Household Hazardous Waste/Noxious Weed Director.
“Working a 4/10 schedule has given me the ability to spend more time with my family and actually enjoy the weekends. I now have the freedom to use the extra day to take care of appointments, chores around the house, or be with my kids if they are out of school. In the beginning it took a little bit of getting used to but the positive definitely outweighs the negative,” said Steve Schurle, Commercial Real Estate Analyst.
Service hours for departments such as Emergency Medical Services, Emergency Management, Community Corrections, District Court, Riley County Fire District #1, and the Transfer Station, would not be included in the change.
The Riley County Board of County Commissioners will make the final decision after careful consideration and input from both employees and the public.
Find more information about Riley County and the proposal to expand hours of operation at www.rileycountyks.gov.