BY CHRISTINA M. SEILER, Rochester Sentinel News Editor
Hoping to save money and increase on-the-job efficiency, the Fulton County Highway Department is switching to a four-day work week for the summer.
Fulton County Commissioners approved the change Monday. The department employees will work 6 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. shifts - one-half hour for lunch - through the end of October. Then they return to a five-day work week until April.
The change won't be instituted in the winter, said Highway Supervisor Dave Tofson, because it's too hard to predict when the road workers will be needed.
He believes the change will save at least $600 in fuel per month plus wear and tear on the department's vehicles. There also will be a savings in utilities if the highway garage is shut down one additional day per week, he said.
He also anticipates a more efficient week because the employees can stay on task longer.
There will be someone on call each Friday, reachable through the Fulton County Sheriff's Department, to handle emergencies, Tofson said.
LaPorte County made the same change two years ago, Tofson said.
Robert Young is the LaPorte County Highway Supervisor. He said Monday his department made the switch in mid-summer 2007. This is the first full season of the change, he said, so he can't accurately estimate savings. They varied from month to month last year.
No disadvantages have surfaced yet, Young said.
"It's a big, big morale booster here, what I see with the people. They've got a three-day weekend in the summer. They're using less energy themselves, so it's less out of their pocket ... It's a savings for us. It's one whole day we're not here," Young said.
"They're actually talking about going county-wide, the courthouse and all county offices," Young said of LaPorte County government.
Commissioners want him to try the four-day week in the winter. He said he will but he's concerned it could actually lead to more overtime hours if there's a Thursday or Friday snowstorm and the employees already have their 40 hours in.
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