UPDATE: Is 4:00 p.m. quitting time too early at the Winneshiek County Courthouse?

(Last week, Ana Olson-Johnson of Decorah wrote a Letter tothe Editor asking why Winneshiek County Courthouse offices aren't open past4:00 p.m. weekdays.  You can read her letter here: http://www.decorahnews.com/news-stories/2014/09/8921.html. Since we posted that letter, we have received updated information)

You would think there would be uniform office hours in theWinneshiek County Courthouse—but you would be wrong.  Several of theoffices are run by elected officials who determine which hours their officeshould be open.  Even offices which are not run by elected officials havesome flexibility in their hours.

For instance, the County Engineer's Office is open from 7:00a.m. until 4:00 p.m.  The Planning and Zoning Department is open from 8:00a.m. until noon and from 1:00 p.m. until 4:00 p.m.  Several departmentsare open occasionally on Saturdays.  The County Landfill is open from 8:00a.m. until 12J0 noon on the firstSaturday of every month.  The County Auditor's Office is open severalSaturdays before major elections.  The County Recorder's Office is openone Saturday a year (this year, it's this coming Saturday) to handle theprocessing of passport applications.

In short, the county board does NOT set office hours, soanyone desiring to have a certain county office change its operating schedulewill have to convince the manager of that particular office.  In some ofthose cases the department is run by an elected official, so they're morelikely to try to accommodate the wishes of the public.  But for now itlooks like a 4:00 p.m. closing time will continue to prevail at the Courthouse.