Hours will be changing for Watertown City departments in City Hall, the Parker Annex, along with the Senior Center, after a City Council vote on Tuesday. These facilities will be open later on Tuesdays and close earlier on Fridays throughout the year.
City Manager George Proakis said at a previous meeting that the change in hours would help the city recruit employees, and that many surrounding communities have early closings on Fridays.
One area of concern was resident’s ability to pay bills at the Treasurer’s office on Fridays.
“There have been discussions about how it affects particular employees, and how it impacts the public as a whole,” Proakis said. “We did an analysis of how many people have been here between 12:30 and 5 on Fridays…. Those numbers are low, except one particular moment in time when we had the excise tax due date on a Friday.”
Proakis said the Treasurer’s office picks the due date of tax bills.
“It is very easy for that to be chosen so it does not fall on a Friday, so there is not a rush of last minute visitors on a day that we close early,” Proakis said.
He added that there are only two or three times in the next couple years when a city bill due date would fall on a Friday.
Former City Councilor Angeline Kounelis said that if there was a property tax date that fell on a Friday, that she hoped the due date would be pushed later, rather than earlier. Otherwise, she said, it might impact residents on budgets who might not be able to pay bills earlier.
Steve Addonizio, who used to work for the City, said that the changes would have a positive effect on employee morale.
Councilor Lisa Feltner asked whether some particular departments might have different hours, and Councilor Tony Palomba noticed that the Inspectional Services Department opened at 7:30 a.m., an hour earlier than other departments.
Proakis said Inspectional Services, which recently moved to the Parker Annex on Watertown Street, will open an hour earlier and close an hour earlier than other departments. Also, the Department of Public Works will continue to be open from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., the Watertown Free Public Library will make its own hours, and the Police and Fire departments operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
The City Council voted 9-0 to approve the change in hours.
The City of Watertown provided the following information about the change in hours:
There are new hours for City Hall, the Parker Annex, and the Senior Center, starting Monday, June 3, 2024. All city departments located in those buildings (except Inspectional Services at the Parker Annex) will be open:
Monday: 8:30 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Tuesday: 8:30 a.m. – 7 p.m.
Wednesday: 8:30 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Thursday: 8:30 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Friday: 8:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Please note:
The Inspectional Services office hours will be:
Monday: 7:30 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Tuesday: 7:30 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Wednesday: 7:30 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Thursday: 7:30 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Friday: 7:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
The Department of Public Works (DPW) office hours will continue to be Monday through Friday from 7:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Fire, Police, and Library hours are unchanged.
All hours are on this page on the City’s website: https://watertown-ma.gov/595/Municipal-Buildings-Hours
If you have questions about the new hours, please call 311 in Watertown or email 311@watertown-ma.gov.
Good change. Gives people an evening to come in if necessary. Not a lot of demand for City Hall services on a Friday afternoon!