Round Lake may cut village hall hours

Round Lake may join other suburbs in trimming the hours some village facilities are open for public business in an effort to save money.

Trustees discussed the possibility of reducing the number of Saturdays village hall is open, and the availability of the public works department at an informal committee meeting Monday night. No formal action was taken.

Village Trustee Michael Blum said it's recommended the core village hall hours remain 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. However, he said officials are considering opening village hall only one Saturday a month - just before water bills are due - from 8 a.m. to noon.

"We did a study of ultimately how busy we are on Saturday," Blum said during the committee session. "And we're not."

Blum added that Round Lake staff members must rotate to cover Saturday shifts every week. Precise cost savings for the proposed village hall hours weren't immediately available.

Round Lake public works hours also may shift to weekdays only from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Blum said.

In Mundelein, officials earlier this month agreed to reduce the hours village hall is open to the public to save cash. Instead of opening at 8 a.m., village hall hours are now 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays.