SUMMERLAND – Starting July 2, 2023, the District of Summerland will trial extended service hours for customers by compressing full-time hours into a four-day period, from Tuesday to Friday for Municipal Hall. The trial will be 18 months and will apply to most Municipal Hall staff.

Counter services will be provided Tuesday through Friday but will run later now, extending to 5pm. Additionally, the opening time will be earlier, beginning at 8:15am each morning. Service will continue over the lunch hour period as is currently the case.

Feedback from customers has been that extended hours would help accommodate their business and personal schedules. In response, the District and the Union collaborated on the concept to see full-time hours compressed into a four-day period, providing a longer workday and extended service.

To ensure operational efficiency, some services will remain on a different schedule. Building inspections will continue five days per week, and Corporate Services will operate on a five-day schedule as well, but on an appointment-only basis on Mondays (when counter services are not operational). Bylaw staff will continue to moderate their schedule according to season, with a seven day per week schedule at this time.

“The customer is our number one priority, and it is my hope that these extended hours make a real difference for our residents and the business community” said Chief Administrative Officer Graham Statt, “at the same time, this approach could really help our efforts to attract and retain staff in a very competitive labour market. Turnover affects service, and serving the customer well means keeping the staff we have and having the ability to attract qualified individuals for the positions we need to fill.”

Summerland joins other private and public sector organizations who are testing the concept of a four-day compressed work week for the benefit of staff and the public. Results of the trial will be reported back to Council in the fall of 2024.

To accommodate this pilot, Council meetings days will change from Mondays to Tuesdays, starting July 18th.