By Linda Stinnett

On Monday, about a dozen senior citizens were eating lunch at the senior center in the city hall complex. 

For those who were in attendance, and the 25 homebound recipients of meals, the Red Cross Good Neighbor Nutrition program at the senior center is nearly an essential service.

Iris Faust attends because she enjoys the companionship of others for the meal and doesn’t like cooking for herself. She was serving food to those who cannot help themselves and pointed out that for some of those attending, they cannot cook for themselves.

The need for those meals was one of the prime reasons that council members were not in favor of closing city hall and the senior center on Fridays, as the staff looked for ways to increase some hours in city offices while also offering flexible hours for employees, she said.

Members of the Derby City Council and the city staff are aware that as many as 50 people a day count on the meals, according to City Manager Kathy Sexton.

At the annual city retreat and workshop in November, council members across the board expressed a desire to not close city hall all day Friday. So Sexton and the staff went back to the drawing board.

What they have come up with is a suggestion to have a 4-1/2 day work week. City hall would be open from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday and open 7:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Fridays. 

The proposal would allow the senior center – and all city offices – to be open five mornings a week. But it would create a workable plan to allow flexible work times for employees in a staff which is still too small to offer flex time and keep the offices open five days a week.

“This is extended service hours as a customer service initiative for the public,” Sexton said.

When she proposed the idea, Sexton said the change in schedule is designed to:

• Make the city an innovative leader in improving customer service to residents and businesses.

• Make the city an employer of choice for the metro area.

• Allow creative and thoughtful methods to deal with budget pressures in 2012 and beyond.

“As these goals indicate, in order to be successful, a proposal would have to benefit customers, taxpayers and employees,” Sexton said.

The idea is number seven on the city’s priority list and Sexton wants feedback on the idea from local residents before it moves up the list. City hall customers are being asked their thoughts through a front desk survey and Sexton is hoping readers of The Informer will contact her with their thoughts.