St. Mary City Collector’s Hours Will Be Discussed In March Meeting

Changes in the hours for the city collector was the main topic of the February 13 meeting of the St. Mary Board of Aldermen, with the board opting to table the matter for a future meeting.

Stacia Placke, who was appointed to the position last fall, proposed the changes in the hours after aldermen expressed interest in some extended hours. Since she was not in attendance to discuss the changes, the board tabled the matter until a future meeting.

The proposal included extended office hours on Thursday until 4:30 p.m. in an attempt to serve city residents who are not able to get to City Hall earlier in the days of the week.

The collector currently is in City Hall from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Tuesday through Friday with a lunch break from noon to 1 p.m.

The new hours would be 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday, 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Thursday and 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Friday. Lunch would be noon to 12:30 p.m. each day.

“I don’t think they’re good enough, in my opinion,” Mayor Gloria Bader said.

The collector is off on Monday, which Alderman Clyde Cassoutt noted sometimes is the last day a payment can be made.

“I took a lot of payments this Monday.” city clerk David Woods said.

Bader said Woods probably has been collecting more money than the collector. Woods said the hours were related to child care and child health issues.

Alderman Brian Helms said most working people would have a difficult time getting to City Hall during her normal hours. Alderwoman Jennifer Schwartz added that most working people would be out of town during the day and have to include their travel time to get to City Hall.

See complete story in the February 26 edition of the Herald.