LEWISTON — A four-day workweek for City Hall employees implemented this fall will become permanent after receiving support from the City Council on Tuesday.

While those in support have said the schedule has increased morale and will make it easier to attract and retain employees, several members of the public and some councilors remained unconvinced that the new City Hall schedule is benefiting the public.

Leading up to the council vote, city staff said the four-day workweek has seen essentially unanimous support from employees and limited concerns from the public, and that they are seeing residents utilize the earlier hours. City Hall was previously open 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday-Friday. The condensed workweek opens doors at 7:45 a.m. Monday-Thursday, with extended hours until 5:30 p.m. on Tuesdays.

Staff on Tuesday also said the list of services available for residents to access online will increase soon.

However, Councilors Michael Roy and David Chittim, who voted against making the schedule permanent, said they’d heard overwhelming opposition from constituents.

“I’ve heard from people who are not satisfied,” said Chittim. “I’m pleased online services are growing, but there’s a significant segment that does not conduct business that way.”

Roy said he hasn’t heard from a single constituent that supports it, and that many people get paid on Fridays, and now can’t get things done at City Hall.

Others, like Councilor Josh Nagine, supported the program, but said there are ways it can be improved. He argued that the council should extend the pilot for a matter of months until a new city administrator is in place. In the meantime, he said, “we need to get better about what we’re offering on our website.”

Acting City Administrator Brian O’Malley urged the council to either make the schedule permanent or vote it down completely in order to give a clear message to staff and the various unions that O’Malley has negotiated with on the program.

Craig Starr, director of IT, said the city is currently waiting on its payment processor in order to allow residents to make online transactions on the website.

During public comment, resident Lisa Jones argued that not everything done at City Hall is a financial transaction.

“Some of it is relationships,” she said, adding that the “black and white thinking” around either making it permanent or throwing it out is “mind blowing.”

Another resident, Matt Roy, said the plan was done with a “lack of vision,” and that other businesses have found ways to have 4-day work weeks for staff but remain open to the public five days.

Councilor Eryn Soule-Leclair, who ultimately voted in favor, said she was “torn” about the proposal, but said without staff, “there’s no one here to help you on Friday anyway.”

“I think this has a lot of value, and I’m not ready to put it to bed,” she said.

Mayor Carl Sheline argued that the change isn’t a reduction in services, and that residents have reported enjoying the earlier morning hours and late hours on Tuesdays. He also pointed out the large number of municipalities moving to a similar system.

“This is certainly where management and workforce is headed,” he said, adding that Lewiston would eventually be in an “extreme competitive disadvantage” if it didn’t offer a similar program.