Public office hours at Dexter Township Hall stay at five days

Dexter Township was thinking about setting new public office hours at township hall to 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday.

That would have taken Friday away from those in the public needing to stop in.

This proposal was presented at the March 16 township board meeting, which was held virtually. It was submitted as an agenda item for the meeting by the township’s executive committee.

The goal of the proposal stated, “Beginning April 1, 2021, the Dexter Township office will not be open to the public on Fridays in order to allow the staff to concentrate on projects that need undivided attention resulting in more efficient use of work time with less errors.”

In opposing the idea, board trustee Jim Drolett said township hall has been open five days a week to the public for years and previous boards were able to get their work done in that time. He said construction season is coming up and permits might be needed, so he was worried that limiting access might become a big inconvenience for the public.

Township supervisor Diane Ratkovich said the proposal was really about efficiency through setting up some time for focused work without any interruptions. She said many townships their size are open just four days a week. She said the township would still address the important, timely needs of the township on Fridays.

Board trustee Laura Sanders said she wasn’t sure about this proposal either, but understands the want to set aside some time to solely focus on certain projects. She said it sounds like work would be done, but the office would not be open to the public.

Board trustee Karen Nolte said she wondered about how many people typically come into the office and on what days. She said maybe a time study could be done before any final decision is made.

Township treasurer Maris Metz and clerk Michelle Stamboulellis agreed with the idea of a study and said it could help better inform the proposal.

Some in the public spoke on the topic as well during the meeting.

Township resident Mary Pawloski said a time study should be done. She said Friday between 2-5 p.m. is her time for errands. So if she needed to, she said Friday would be the only time she could get to the township without setting up an appointment and interfering with her work schedule.

Resident Michelle DeLancey, who is also the office manager at township hall, said Friday can be busy sometimes while other weeks not so much. She said no doubt COVID has made a difference, but added there are a variety of factors involved with people visiting township hall, including the time of the year.

She said from her view, yes it might be nice to have focused time to do tasks like payroll and not be interrupted, but in the end for her it’s about doing her job, which is to serve the public.

After hearing the views from the board and those in the public, Ratkovich suggested that maybe they should postpone a decision on this and not move forward with any change on April 1.

She said part of the reason for putting forth a proposal such as this is to get feedback before making a decision, and that’s what happened.

So no decision was made on this proposal.

Going forward now, any residents or person needing to do business with the township which can only be done in person should know that Dexter Township Hall at 6880 Dexter-Pinckney Road will be open for business from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Fridays as well as Monday through Thursday.