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Council debates whether to amend city-hall hours written in 2023 ordinance
Summary
Councilors questioned whether recently adopted public hours reflect employee work schedules, and asked staff to produce the ordinance text (Ordinance 2023-1183) before any formal change. Legal counsel cautioned that meal breaks and work schedules are governed by union contracts and statute.
Councilors spent the opening minutes of the regular meeting reviewing municipal office hours after staff and council members raised that the "new hours" set previously may not match the ordinance text.
"According to this ordinance, the office hours right now are Monday through Friday, 08:30AM to 04:30PM," the presiding official said, reading the code number into the record. Council members responded that earlier practice had been 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. with an hour lunch. "I remember reading it, and it was from 9 to 5 with an hour lunch," one councilor said.
Legal counsel warned the council to distinguish between public-facing City Hall hours and employee work schedules. "The meal break is usually... one hour or 0.5 hour, but that's unpaid in the contract," the city's legal advisor said, adding that 15-minute rest breaks are paid by statute. Counsel and staff recommended that the council request the ordinance text for verification before voting on any amendment.
The council did not take final action on hours at the meeting and asked staff to provide the ordinance language and related documentation so members could confirm whether a formal amendment is needed. The item was left for further review at a future meeting.
