Beginning next month, New Gloucester will change the way it conducts business in an attempt to save energy and reduce the burden of high gasoline prices on town employees.

The town will switch to a four-day schedule for the town office and a library. The reduced schedule should save the town money on heating, cooling and electrical use, and save workers a day’s commute every week, cutting their individual costs for driving to work by about 20 percent. Office hours will be expanded on the four days it is open, meaning longer days for the workers and expanded hours of service for residents.

The experiment is modest in its scope, but it shows that local governments can make changes to counter the increases in energy costs forecast for this winter.

Recognizing that the change could cause problems for some people – especially those trying to pay their property taxes – the town office hours won’t change until the second week of October, after the due date on municipal taxes.

Town residents and selectmen will have the opportunity to judge whether the savings justify having the town office closed on Friday and whether they like the adjusted library schedule. Regardless of the outcome, the effort is worthwhile, and energy conservation is a goal other municipalities should emulate.