After several years of staying open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., the county board voted to close the Mower County Government Center and the Jail and Justice Center a half-hour earlier.

The board unanimously voted to change the buildings’ public business hours to 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. starting March 3 in what Coordinator Craig Oscarson sees as a consistency issue. Since the courts and court administration closes at 4:30 p.m., people routinely go into other justice center offices between 4:30 and 5 p.m. asking courts questions, according to Oscarson.

According to commissioner, the earlier closing time will not affect staff hours, as employees could use that time to balance the books or do other business to close the office without interruptions.

The change will not affect the Law Enforcement Center, as it’s open 24 hours a day.

Commissioner Jerry Reinartz predicted there will be a few unhappy people, since closing time was 5 p.m. for decades. If the earlier closing time doesn’t work out, the board could revisit the issue.