City Hall Evening Hours to Continue

City Hall will continue to remain open until 6 p.m. one evening a week for the convenience of Portsmouth citizens at least through June 30, 2013, City Manager John Bohenko announced December 19^th.  

A six-month pilot project with Monday evening hours was scheduled to end Dec. 31 but the City Manager said the trial will be extended another six months to better evaluate its success. He said feedback thus far has been positive overall.   Regular business hours of 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. will continue Tuesday through Thursday, and City Hall closes at 1 p.m. on Fridays. During weeks where a federal holiday is celebrated on a Monday, City Hall will remain open until 6 p.m. on Tuesday for that week only.

The City Manager noted that although the City offers some online services, there are still transactions that require residents to come to City Hall, including customers who have newly purchased a vehicle, new residents, those wishing to make a cash payment and those who prefer having a receipt handed to them.

The original decision to alter the hours on a trial basis resulted from feedback from Portsmouth residents and City Council member that residents working outside the city had a difficult time getting to City Hall between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.

Submitted by Diana Fogarty, Human Resources director, Portsmouth City Hall