Cities across Utah and the United States are considering moving to a 4/10 work schedule, but Mapleton City has come up with a new option for its employees. Mapleton officials looked into expanding their office hours after Gov. Jon Huntsman announced that the state would be moving to the new 10-hour, Monday-Thursday schedule. The city decided, however, that it would not save money using the same plan, and officials did not want to limit residents' options on Fridays.

Starting Tuesday, city office hours will be extended by one hour Monday through Thursday, and remain open for a full day on Fridays. In return, city employees will be able to take alternating Fridays off.

Bradshaw said the idea came from city employees, who had discussed a 4/10 schedule option but felt they should not deny access to residents who need to visit the offices on Fridays.

"The staff generally felt they were here to serve the public, not to arrange hours that are convenient to the staff," he said.

Mayor Laurel Brady said the city also decided against the increasingly popular 4/10 schedule because the city staff members are not the sole users of the building. Closing the city office building would not be feasible because several other groups rely on the facility.

"We would not realize any savings whatsoever by going to the 4/10 schedule because in our building we house the Utah County Bookmobile," she said.

The Bookmobile is an independent organization that would remain open Fridays, so any savings in electricity and other utilities would be avoided. Various services, such as the library and adult recreation rely on the building and are just as crucial to residents as city offices.

"The whole reason for the building is a community center," she said.

Brady said the city wanted to be able to expand its hours of availability, and the fact that many other governmental offices would be doing the same was a factor in the decision. Once the public is accustomed to state offices working on a 4/10 schedule, they may plan their city needs accordingly.

"People might get used to coming into a government place earlier or later," she said.

Seth Perrins, assistant city administrator for Spanish Fork, said his city had similar issues when it went to a 4/10 schedule in 2003. The city eventually moved to a mixed schedule to allow residents to come to the office every day of the week, but Perrins said the city never shut down its building entirely either because it is shared with courts and other services.

"Spanish Fork didn't go to a 4/10 to save on utilities," he said. "We went to a 4/10 based on feedback and observations."