SOUTH HADLEY — Town Hall will close to the public on Fridays indefinitely to compensate for front desk staff reductions and allow remaining department staff to catch up on work.
A Sept. 30 announcement posted on the town website states the building will be closed to non-staff on Fridays starting Oct. 2. The two exceptions will be for midterm election early voting on Oct. 23 and Oct. 30, the post states.
Town Hall had already closed on Fridays during the summer months. The post now makes these hours permanent throughout the year.
Town Administrator Lisa Wong attributed the Friday closure to staffing reductions. Town Hall staff has been cut by 20% over the last several years, with the biggest loss of positions in fiscal year 2027. Nearly every department saw a reduction of staff in the current fiscal year, either by cutting positions or reducing jobs from full-time to part-time. Most of the lost jobs were front desk staff.
Managerial positions have handled reception work during the week, so closing the Town Hall to the public one day a week will allow the staff to catch up on other department duties, like paperwork and mandatory meetings, Wong said.
“Any staff that primarily works at their desk has been eliminated through attrition or retirement or layoffs over years,” she continues. “We definitely have less people doing more work.”
Staff will still be in the building and working in the community on Fridays unless they receive permission to work from home. While residents can still call or email officials, “response time will still be slower because there is less staff,” Wong said.
Reduction of Town Hall hours was previously listed as one of the budget impacts during the fiscal year 2027 budget discussions if the $3.5 million, $9 million or $11 million Proposition 2-1/2 overrides failed. At the Sept. 8 Select Board meeting, Wong reiterated that Town Hall would remain closed to the public on Fridays, adding that other town buildings will see a similar reduction in hours in future fiscal years because of staffing levels.
