Melissa City Hall office schedule set to change hours
Schedule will provide additional time for public interaction

MELISSA (February 8, 2023) Starting on Monday, Feb. 27, the hours of operation for the City of Melissa’s administrative offices will change, opening earlier and closing later in an effort to provide more opportunities for public access.

The Public Library will not change its current schedule. The library is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturdays. It is closed on Sundays. The Fire and Police Departments provide public safety services 24 hours a day. The Police Department’s administrative office will operate daily from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.

On Feb. 27, administrative offices, including Utility Billing, Municipal Court, and Fire Administration, will open at 7:30 a.m. Monday through Friday. Offices will close at 5:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and close at 11:30 a.m. on Friday.

The nine hour workdays from Monday through Thursday, coupled with the four hours on Friday complete a 40-hour workweek for employees. Significantly, the schedule also adds 30 minutes in the morning and 30 minutes in the evening for persons who wish to visit City Hall and conduct business before and after normal office hours. The evening hours do not apply on Fridays.

The change was authorized by the City Council in January at the request of City Manager Jason Little.

“Providing opportunities for individuals who can’t otherwise visit City Hall because of their work schedule was the main driver for the change,” says Little. “In addition, the new schedule also allows the City management team to provide employees with yet another benefit that does not impact the budget.”

In the current highly competitive marketplace for recruiting and and retaining productive employees, non-compensation benefits can make a difference in prospective employees’ decisions. The recent work-from-home culture spawned by the pandemic has also influenced how employers approach recruitment and retention issues.

The City of Melissa has long operated as a lean organization, successfully providing critical City services with significantly fewer employees per 1,000 population than any city or town in the North Texas area. Hiring individuals who are not only proficient in their specific profession, but also willing to take on additional duties and challenges has been the cornerstone of the City of Melissa’s hiring practices.