Fayetteville's City Hall

will be open longer Monday through Friday starting Jan. 1 thanks to a

trial program the city is implementing.

The city offices will open

a half-hour earlier in the morning at 7:30 and stay open until 6 p.m.,

a full hour later than current hours. City employees schedules will be

staggered to cover the extra hours, said City Manager Joe Morton.

The main goal of extending

the hours is to allow those who can't make it back by the current

5 p.m. closing time an extra hour in the evening to come by, Morton said.

The early morning hours will likely benefit contractors and others who

need access to the building department and already get earlier starts

to their day, he added.

"We'll evaluate it

after the first three months and see if it's paying off," Morton

said. "If the community sees it as a benefit, we'll continue

it. If not, we'll look at doing something different."

The change in schedules will

allow some employees to work four-day weeks with 10-hour days, Morton

said. That allows an extra day off Friday or Monday for employees to spend

time with their families and take care of personal business such as medical

appointments that can't be scheduled on Saturday or Sunday, he added.

Another benefit will be the

added reduction in commuting for employees, which will also help, although

in a small way, air quality, Morton said.

"It should also reduce

comp time and overtime in certain areas," Morton added.

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