After discussing a change to the office hours of the Mower County Government Center, the Mower County Board of Commissioners opted to leave the hours at 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

A group of staff members had proposed shifting the center’s hours of operation to 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. with a half hour lunch, rather than 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. with an hour lunch.

However, the county board Tuesday voted unanimously to keep the office hours the same.

While Commissioner Tim Gabrielson admitted the last half hour of the day can be slow, he said that’s not lost time. County employees often do office work or duties to prepare for the next day’s work, he said.

“It’d be nice to get done early, too, but at the same time, we’re here for our constituents,” Gabrielson said.

Gabrielson also said the change would make it difficult for employees to have a lunch break in a half hour. Not only would it be difficult for employees to leave the building for lunch, but Gabrielson also said the government center’s break room is too small to handle a large increase of employees eating lunch at work.

Earlier this year, the county submitted a bill to the Minnesota Senate and House of Representatives to wave a mandate and allow the county to pursue a four-day work week, but the bill was quickly voted down in a subcommittee. Had the bill passed, Commissioner Ray Tucker said this issue may have been much different.