LAHARPE — LaHarpe city employees are getting an earlier start to their workdays this month.
City Council members, cognizant of the ongoing spell of hot, dry weather, are directing employees to report to work at 6 a.m. each day, instead of the normal 8 o’clock, so they can end their workday by 3 p.m., when temps are at their hottest.
Because of the way the city schedules its work crews, only one employee at a time will be subject to the early schedule.
City Superintendent Larry Laird told Council members Wednesday that he and fellow employee Keith Knavel will alternate the early schedule because one must remain on call from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The schedule also changes each Friday, when the early riser will report to work at 4 a.m. instead of 6, in order to handle the weekly mosquito spraying, and go home for the day 2 hours earlier, by 1 p.m.
Councilman Scott Kroenke noted workers in extreme heat are at their most vulnerable at the end of the workday, due to dehydration.
“I don’t care how well conditioned you are to work in the heat,” he said. “Dehydration is a serious issue.”
The altered schedule will run through the Council’s Sept. 8 meeting.
Speaking of mosquito spraying, the Council reversed an earlier decision and will resume spraying for mosquitoes for another month, as they investigate less expensive alternatives.
The current spray cost about $100 a gallon, prompting the Council to stop the practice once its current supply runs out.
However, a resident voiced a letter asking the Council to reconsider, leading to Wednesday’s debate.
Kroenke noted mosquito control is an “everybody effort,” and not just the city’s responsibility.
In fact, the most effective way to control the little critters is to ensure properties do not have stagnant water, such as in discarded tires, water dishes or tanks and anywhere else water accumulates.
Council members agreed to acquire enough spray to last until the Council’s September meeting, during which time Kroenke promised to research alternatives to find if less expensive options are available.
COUNCIL members approved the city’s 2027 spending plan, supported in part by a 64.023 ad valorem tax levy.
The levy is a drop of about 4.6 mills from the 2026 levy, and will keep the city’s general fund, projected at $243,000, roughly static from the last two years. The levy is so low LaHarpe did not have to send out a notice to taxpayers that it would exceed the Revenue Neutral Rate, the second straight year LaHarpe did not have to send out the notice.
