In effort to reduce utility costs at the courthouse and the Lampasas County Office Building, the county may adopt a four-day-a-week work schedule.

The Lampasas County Commissioners Court on Monday took no action on a work schedule change, but commissioners planned to ap- point a sixmember committee by midweek to discuss the benefits and disadvantages of four 10-hour workdays each week. Committee members will include downtown Lampasas merchants and county office employees.

If the Commissioners Court chooses to open county offices only four days a week, the plan likely will take effect during the 2009-10 fiscal year, County Judge Wayne Boultinghouse said.

No other county in the state has adopted a four-day work week, although Lubbock County has formed a committee to discuss the possibility, county judge's administrative assistant Dianne Seery said.

The county spends about $3,000 a month on utilities for the County Office Building alone, Ms. Seery said. Adjusting the thermostat in the building last month saved $500 in utilities, compared to the previous month, she said, so the county could reduce expenditures if it ran utilities only four days each week.

Precinct 2 Commissioner Alex Wittenburg and Precinct 3 Commissioner Lowell Ivey already use a four-day, 10-hour-per-day work schedule, and they said most of their employees like the idea.

"It has saved us some diesel fuel," Wittenburg added, noting his preoff cinct has stayed within its diesel budget despite price increases throughout the year. "That's one day a week we're not driving to the work sites."

Joe Carroll, 27th Judicial District judge, has said he would be willing to reschedule district court so Lampasas County offices could close on Fridays.

Ms. Seery said only five of the 42 county employees she surveyed expressed concerns about a four-day-a-week work schedule. With Fridays off, employees could go to medical appointments and finish personal errands without having to miss work, Ms. Seery said.

During holiday weeks, the county would revert to an 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. schedule for the remaining four weekdays, she said. Employees would have to count 10 hours instead of eight each time they take a vacation or personal leave day, she added.

County offices would be open until 6 p.m., so citizens could conduct their business without having to drive downtown during their lunch breaks, Ms. Seery said.

Precinct 4 Commissioner Jack B. Cox said residents need a chance to address commissioners about the proposed change, as citizens would have one less day each week to conduct county transactions.

"It's going to be a drastic change," Cox said. "In some ways it's going to help, but in some ways it's going to inconvenience people who count on us to be open five days a week."

The commissioner also said fewer patrons might shop downtown if county offices were closed on Fridays.

In two called meetings before its regular session, the Commissioners Court approved the 2008-09 budget and set the tax rate for the upcoming fiscal year at 62 cents per $100 valuation.

During the regular session, the court voted 7-0 to appoint two replacement election judges. Barbara Racino will replace Marcia Wallace in Precinct 2, and Stacy Pauly will take Misty Maldonado's spot in Precinct 7.

In other election-related items, the Commissioners Court voted unanimously to hold 12-hour early voting days on Oct. 21 and Oct. 30 and to conduct a joint election with the city of Copperas Cove.

The 288 Precinct 1 voters who live both in Lampasas County and the Copperas Cove city limits may vote Nov. 4 at Clear Creek Baptist Church. Early voting for all county voters will be held at the elections administrator office at 412 S. Live Oak in Lampasas.

The Commissioners Court also unanimously approved a set of sheriff and constable fees, which will take effect in January. Some civil process fees remain the same, but others will increase to make Lampasas County's charges comparable to fees in Williamson, Travis, Burnet and Bell counties, sheriff-elect David Whitis said.

"A lot of these civil processes require a deputy to make several trips to a house to complete the required paperwork, and sometimes they're out of pocket for several hours," Whitis said. "This is basically a way to recoup our costs."

In another agenda item, Alfred Wilson, a resident of County Road 4366, told commissioners a neighbor -- who Wilson said houses about a dozen dogs -- is violating county animal control ordinance provisions. Whitis said he would send the county's animal control officer, Kasey Dressel, to investigate the property.