City Hall Will Continue Opening At 8 a.m.

The city of Summerville is extending its decision to open an hour earlier during the workweek in order to accommodate utility customers.

City hall started opening an hour earlier — 8 a.m. That new time will continue until Aug. 27 when the city council meets and decides whether to continue that new trend.

“We had between five to eight customers in that short time each day. Most of them commented that they appreciated it. They were either going to work or getting off. They said by city hall opening earlier they didn’t have to get back out,” Interim Summerville City Manager Janice Galloway said.

She thinks it’s a good service but will leave it up to the council to decide the fate of whether to open early or not. The front office workers are on a 35-hour work week. By opening earlier this meant one employee had to work 40 hours.

The city has more than 4,400 utility customers in Chattooga and Floyd counties. Many people are opting to pay their bills online and with automatic bank drafts, city clerk Angie White said.

Last month 762 utility customers paid through an automatic bank draft. Another 588 used the city’s online portal to pay.

The city also has an office in Armuchee that serves customers in Floyd County. They average about 300 walk-in customers a month, according to White.