Darien Selectmen To Consider Changes To Town Hall Hours

DARIEN, CT — At its next meeting on Monday, the Board of Selectmen will consider changes to the hours at Darien Town Hall as part of an ongoing effort to make Darien government an attractive place to work, and improve services for residents.

Before the coronavirus pandemic, town officials and government union leaders negotiated a trial program that altered Town Hall hours, in part because a growing number of government employees were traveling to town from greater distances, according to Town Administrator Kate Clarke Buch.

Currently, Town Hall's hours of operation are 8 a.m. to 5:15 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, and 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesdays. Darien Town Hall is closed on Fridays and weekends, though the Building Department and Fire Marshals office continue to operate on Fridays.

The trial period, which began in June, was initially scheduled to run into September, but after the coronavirus pandemic caused reduced accessibility to Town Hall for safety reasons, officials decided to extend the trial through the end of the year.

At a Dec. 14 meeting where Town Hall hours were discussed, Selectmen wanted to ensure that the public was being adequately served by closing on Fridays, because Darien was the only community in the immediate area that was considering a permanent change of keeping Town Hall closed. Some other lower Fairfield County communities close town halls for all or part of Fridays only during the summer months.

Buch has proposed the Selectmen consider a plan where Town Hall's gym entrance remain open to allow the public to drop off items in a secure dropbox. Additionally, department heads, the Town Administrator and the First Selectman could decide to keep a department open on Fridays during high-volume periods.

Also at Buch's suggestion, the Selectmen will consider dropping the Tuesday evening openings, because they were rarely utilized.

The Darien Board of Selectmen is scheduled to discuss the changes during its next virtual meeting at 7 p.m. Monday, Jan. 4. Click here for more information.