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EASTON, Conn. Our Easton readers have spoken and 50 percent of those who voted in our poll said they would like to see the town clerks office open until 4:30 p.m. like the rest of the offices in Town Hall.
The issue of the town clerk's hours was brought up during a recent Board of Selectmen meeting by First Selectman Tom Herrmann. Currently, Town Clerk Derek Buckley keeps his office from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., but other offices within Town Hall close at 4:30 p.m.
Herrmann said he received a complaint from a resident that the clerks office closes too early, and he now wants to look into changing the hours to match all others in Town Hall.
According to our poll, 20 percent of our readers said the town clerk's office should continue to run from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., 50 percent said they would like the clerk's office to close at 4:30 p.m. and 30 percent said they would like to see the clerk's office close later than 4:30 p.m.
Buckley has said in the past that his office gets the most visitors in the early morning and early afternoon. He said that when he has kept his office open later "nobody comes."
David Antonez said, At a minimum, the town clerk's office should be open the same hours as the rest of the Town Hall. Mr. Buckley holds elected office and has routine daily contact with the public. The town clerk should not be operated as a separate entity. If he wants to offer an earlier start time or later closing time, in addition to normal Town Hall hours, then I'm sure he will find support for doing so.
But reader Timothy R. West said, Minimizing hours saves dollars, which makes a lot cents (sense). With the dawn of the age of the Internet we will soon be able to accomplish so much more online and save even more hours. Imagine.
Herrmann said he expected the issue to be discussed by the selectmen next month.
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