Swampscott Town Hall hours to remain unchanged

SWAMPSCOTT – Town Administrator Thomas Younger announced at a Board of Selectmen meeting Wednesday that after attempting to change Town Hall office hours to cut costs, they will remain the same.Younger?s plan included closing Town Hall on Fridays instead of being open from 8 a.m. to noon. and increasing the hours the rest of the week, which he said would cut energy costs. “The way I looked at it, it?s energy savings and an opportunity to come to Town Hall for some later hours during the week,” said Younger to the board.But Younger said residents were not interested. “The public still like the opportunity, though they may not be coming in, to be available on Fridays,” he said. “It?s not recommended to go further on changing the hours.”Younger added that he is still looking for ways to streamline some Town Hall processes and be more available to residents using technology, such as an online permitting program that he said he would like implemented this year. “I?m working on the technology so they can do it at 2:30 a.m. at home,” he said.Selectman Barry Greenfield suggested switching the hours of one Town Hall operating day from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. to noon to 8 p.m. to accommodate residents who work 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. jobs before fighting rush hour. Younger replied that there would be some contractual issues with that kind of change, but that he?d look into it.Kait Taylor can be reached at [email protected].