Merritt City Hall will officially be open for extended hours Tuesday through Friday, starting tomorrow (November 22.)

It comes as the previous council passed a motion in September launching a four-day work week pilot project, which sees the public office building open extended hours Tuesday through Friday from 8 a.m. and 5:45 p.m.

Mayor Mike Goetz hopes the pilot will help more residents have better access to city hall.

“People before, who were getting off work, couldn’t get down to city hall to do their work can now do that. So the days do become longer, it is just that Monday the doors will be closed.”

Despite the public office being open for extended hours Tuesday through Friday, Goetz says some departments with the City of Merritt will still work Mondays.

“There are going to be some aspects of the city that are not going to be on the four-day work week, it’s a test project to see how the days go, with the days being longer.”

The Planning & Development Services Department will remain open Monday to Friday 8:30 am to 4:30 p.m., while Public Works will stay on a 24/7/365 schedule.

“All staff will be providing the same number of hours of work, but on a compressed schedule. Hours of work in each department varies, but these will not impact front-line services to the public,” said the City in a release.

The 4-day work-week pilot was implemented by the City of Merritt in an effort to recruit and retain staff as well as help to increase staff performance.

The one-year trial is set to be reviewed at the six-month mark to gauge its effectiveness and identify areas where changes may be needed.