Silver Lake to limit office hours

Change will help deal with staff shortage, official says

By Gail Peckler-Dziki
Correspondent

The Silver Lake Village Board voted unanimously to reduce daily village office hours at its May 18 meeting.

Village Hall was open form 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Starting on Monday the new hours are 9 a.m. until 2 p.m.

The plan is to have a test run to see how the change works. There was some concern over residents who bring their sewer and water bills into the office to pay. It was mentioned that there were other options, such as mailing the bill in, paying it online or putting it in the village drop box, located outside the front door.

Clerk Vicki Galich said that Building Inspector Royce Kennedy also said he prefers the 9 a.m. starting time.

Galich said she thought it would be a good idea to extend office hours during certain times, such as the weeks sewer bills and property tax bills are due.

Village President Bruce Nopenz said, “When I took office and became familiar with how things were working, I thought that having the village office in a village this size open 40 hours a week was a bit of overkill.”

“As I have watched how things work over the past year,” Nopenz said, “my suspicions were confirmed.”

Sue Nelson, former deputy clerk/treasurer, has resigned, leaving current clerk Vicki Galich on her own. She stated that by 2 p.m., there is little traffic into Village Hall.

Nopenz said that while the office will be closed to the public, employees will still be working there.

“They need the uninterrupted time to complete administration functions,” Nopenz said. “We are currently short-staffed.”

The plan, Nopenz said, was to get more help in the office in the near future.

Meeting times to change
The Village Board currently has a Committee of the Whole meeting and a regular board meeting. That schedule has created the need to hold additional special meetings when time is of the essence.

The board heard the first reading of an ordinance to repeal the motion which set that schedule and hear the reading of an amendment that will change the schedule back to two regular board meetings a month, on the first and third Wednesdays of each month.

A former village president changed the schedule with an eye toward saving money, since trustees are paid for each meeting they attend.


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