Tewksbury Announces New Town Hall, Town Hall Annex and Senior Center Hours

Updated schedule begins Monday, June 26

The Town of Tewksbury is piloting a new schedule for operating municipal offices at the Town Hall, the Town Hall Annex and the Senior Center starting Monday, June 26, 2023.

The new hours will be as follows:
Monday 7:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Tuesday 7:30 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Wednesday 7:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Thursday 7:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Friday 7:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

This will include the Town Clerk’s Office, Tax Collector’s Office, Assessor’s Office, Finance Department, Community Development (Building, Planning and Health Departments), and the Town Manager’s Office.

The hours of operation for the Department of Public Works will be changing to Monday through Friday from 7:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.

All other Town buildings will retain their current hours during the six-month trial period.

Why is this being proposed?
The Town Manager tasked five department heads to form a committee to evaluate the town’s current work hours from a resident (customer) service perspective, employee work/life balance perspective and a competitive market perspective. During the pandemic and coming out of the pandemic, many organizations, businesses, and other employers have reviewed and reevaluated operations: how employees work, and what alternatives exist to the traditional employment models.

Remote working (working from home), virtual meetings, longer in person days and four-day work weeks have grown as employment models evolving during this time. Many employers have found these alternative models to result in improved productivity, improved employee satisfaction, successful employee retention and recruiting tools, and savings in operations cost and employee expenses.

The movement to a modified work week has also been highlighted by recently submitted state legislation that will allow businesses to participate in a pilot program to move employees to a reduced work schedule without an overall reduction in pay.

What are the current demands for services?
Historically, the demand for services at Town Hall are greatest in the early morning hours, while demand for services are less later in the day, however adding the late close on Tuesday should assist in meeting the later demand.

What alternative options for service exist?
Over the past few years, operations have found an increase in online services, which remain available 4 hours a day. Online services are available for property tax payments, abutter’s lists, motor vehicle abatement requests, vital records, and dog licenses.

Additionally, building, plumbing, electrical, and other related code enforcement permits are also available online, which have increased access to those outside of our normal operating hours.

What happens if public works services are needed during off hours?
In the event of inclement weather or some other need for Public Works to respond during off hours, the team would respond in the same manner as it currently responds on a weekend day, with no change in service level experienced.

What are the anticipated benefits from this change?
We anticipate the changes will improve the ability to retain and recruit employees by making us competitive with other communities currently offering similar schedules, reduced employee expenses for childcare or elder care, while increasing productivity and improving work / life balance for employees.

Are there any changes to other Town operations, like the Library, Police and Fire Services?
No other changes are proposed. Operating hours for the Library, Police and Fire Departments will remain unchanged.

How will the news of these changes be shared?
In advance of the change in hours of operations, the plan to share the news of the coming change will be multi-faceted. First, we will publish a notice of the change on the Town website as well as our Facebook and Twitter accounts. Additionally, we will provide notice through local news outlets and cable tv, which we envision will reach community members who are not online. Finally, we will post the change on the Town’s electronic message board in the Town Center.