Pelham Mayor Don Murphy said Tuesday the city will end its experiment with a four-day work week this Friday, and return to a five-day schedule on Nov. 24.

Since July 4, city employees have worked Monday-Thursday from 7 a.m.-5:30 p.m. as part of a trial period to gauge whether the four-day schedule would cut utility costs and save employees money at the gas pump.

Murphy believes the four-day schedule compromises city services, and poses an inconvenience to residents.

“We are a service-oriented organization” Murphy said. “We need to work five days a week and serve the people as much as we can.”

Murphy added the savings incurred from the four-day schedule are not sizable enough to continue the effort.

The city initially entered a two-month trial period to see how the abbreviated schedule fared. The trial period was slated to end on Labor Day, but was extended until further notice.

The city’s finance department monitored savings throughout the trial period, and according to Finance Director Tom Seale, there were no cost savings to identify.

City departments returning to the five-day schedule include: city clerk, mayor’s office, finance, human resources, business licenses and permitting, revenue, engineering, municipal court, fire and police administrative offices, water department, public works and sewer department.  

The police and fire departments, Ballantrae Golf Club, Pelham Civic Complex, Pelham Racquet Club and Parks and Recreation operate seven days a week. The Pelham Public Library operates six days a week — Monday-Thursday from 9 a.m.-8 p.m., Friday from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m.-5 p.m.