Knoxville has refined its hours of operation at City Hall, with the intent of making it more convenient for the public to use and more efficient for the staff.
Six months ago the city went to a four-day week at City Hall, opening for business from 7 a.m. until 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday. The idea was to make the offices available to persons who work during the day and can’t get there during regular business hours.
But City Manager Aaron Adams tells KNIA/KRLS News having City Hall closed on Fridays didn’t sit well with some residents or city officials.
“Doing that, we felt, would help residents, give them more opportunity. But it meant that we were closing on Fridays; and so the Council asked us, and some feedback we got from the public, was to try and bridge that gap and maybe get the best of both worlds,” Adams says.
Now the City is open again on Fridays, but only from 7 to 11 a.m. Adams says having a presence downtown on this day is not only helpful for the public, but gives city staff or elected officials someone to contact.
And he says Friday afternoons have historically been quiet at the City Hall offices, so there’s no significant difference in closing down for the rest of the day.