Highland OKs 4-day week

HIGHLAND — The Highland City Council approved an eight-month trial of a four-day workweek for all city employees Tuesday, following Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr.'s plan for state workers that began this week.

For the council, the main goal is to save energy by closing offices on Fridays.

"The motion also carried some direction that the city manager would provide a report back to the council after six months of the test, as to how much are we saving, how it is working with the employees and the level of service to the citizens," Mayor Jay Franson said.

The date for moving into the new City Hall is still not set, but city officials believe it will be completed by September. Highland employs more than 30 people, and several staffers are already working a modified 4/10 workweek, but city buildings remain open five days a week.

Certain employees would be on-call on Fridays, and public safety officials would not see any change to their schedules. The new city library will also not be affected by the changes.

"The council's main concern is service to the community, and if there are problems that are uncovered after the test then they would address them differently," City Recorder Gina Peterson said.