Saugus sizes up four-day work week

SAUGUS – When Town Meeting member Raymond Lawrence heard that virtually the entire state of Utah had gone to a four-day work week he said he thought, if it worked for them, maybe it would work Saugus.”I would suggest four days per week, 10 hours per day,” he said. “I think we could save quite a bit of money.”For Utah it hasn’t been as much about saving cash as it has been in saving the environment. According to reports, Gov. Jon Huntsman showed that the initiative will cut greenhouse gas emissions by more than 12,000 metric tons and reduce gas consumption among commuting employees by 744,000.Town Manager Andrew Bisignani said he thought it might save Saugus a few dollars in utility bills.”Obviously it wouldn’t work for Public Safety and I don’t think it would for the DPW (Department of Public Works) either,” he said. “We’re so shorthanded and with the problems we have I can’t take people out of water and sewer.”He did however say that he would consider the idea if it were formally placed on the table. Bisignani actually raised the issue a few years ago and it was not well received.”It would give us a chance to save some money especially in the winter,” he said. “I’m not sure how the public would react.”It was last summer when Utah became the first state to institute a mandatory 4-day work week that impacted 17,000 state employees. Six months later employees are reportedly loving the three-day weekends and the public has adjusted to the changes.Town Clerk Joanne Rappa said a three-day weekend is definitely a change she could get behind.Rappa said it wouldn’t be hard to switch her office to a four-day work week though it might be tricky during Town Meeting time and during election season.”But we work a lot of overtime then anyway, we’d just have to see,” she said.Wendy Reed, clerk for the Board of Selectmen didn’t quite warm to the idea. Reed technically works a four-day week now but she can nonetheless usually be found in her office on Friday mornings.”People already feel we’re not open enough,” she said. “I get a lot of calls. We’re really not accessible to people who work.”Town Hall is open Monday, 8:30 a.m.-7 p.m., Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, 8:15 a.m.-5 p.m. and Fridays 8:15 a.m.-12:30 p.m.Rappa however pointed out that staying open two hours later four nights a week would make Town Hall even more accessible in the long run.Town Accountant Joan Reagan said she could make the change easily.”We could definitely do it here because we don’t deal directly with the public,” she said. “Inspectional Services, maybe not. Friday’s their busiest day.”Selectman Stephen Castinetti said he wouldn’t be bothered by the change but he wasn’t sure it would bring a huge savings.”I just think that maybe we should think about it,” Lawrence said. “I’d like to see Andy bring it back up.”He is not the only one showing a renewed interest in the idea.New York, West Virginia and Virginia are reportedly looking into the possibility of moving to a four-day work week and Hawaii tried it out last fall.