The Wilton Select Board approved newly appointed Highway Superintendent Wayne Titus’ proposal to move the department from a five-day, eight-hour work week to a four-day, ten-hour work week, from Monday to Thursday.

The new hours begin on May 10 and last until Oct. 7.

Titus said during Monday night’s meeting that the schedule adjustment will allow the Highway Department to work longer hours during the day without having to worry about going into overtime, enabling them to potentially finish work faster. Titus added that, in cases where a road or other work area has to be dug up, longer work days would also allow for more time to close up a work site, a process which can add one to three hours of overtime.

“During the summer it’s the longest hours, and you could finish a project rather than have to extend it to a second day, or running into an overtime situation where you’re sending people home while the trenches are still open,” Selectman Tom Schultz said.

Titus agreed, and noted that highway departments in nearly every abutting town – including Milford and Lyndeborough – are already operating under a four-day, 10-hour workday, and have seen significant benefits. Schultz speculated that reducing overtime would ultimately save the town money.

The four-day work week and extended workday hours will last until October, after which the Highway Department will be staffed and on-call for winter weather and related work during the colder months. The four-day work week begins again next spring.

The Select Board also continued its discussion on where to spend the remainder of its ARPA funds. The town expects to have about $72,000 remaining after a majority of the funds were allocated for the upcoming water main extension into the Wilton Public & Gregg Free Library.

Select Board Chair DJ Garcia suggested that the board should ensure there are no unexpected expenses during the water main project before committing the remaining funds to another project, but that they should have a working list of potential projects to pick from when the time comes.

“There’s way more things to do than there is money,” Select Board member Kermit Williams said. “I don’t think its really a case of us hunting for things to spend the money on. I think maybe my preference would be to spend it on things the federal government would expect us to spend the money on.”

There was a discussion about using the funds to upgrade the Highway Department communications equipment, which is needed for full radio coverage across town. Fire Chief Don Norse estimated the upgrades would cost about $32,000. Other ideas included upgraded ambulance service equipment and a new portable lighting trailer for the Highway Department.

Also at Monday night’s meeting, the Select Board accepted Comcast’s franchise renewal contract after comparing it with their previous contract and finding them virtually identical. The board also committed $69,000 from the town’s budget to fund the addition of solar panels on the Police Department roof, although they expect a federal tax credit to bring the price to around $48,000 after a rebate. Finally, they committed $142,450 to recycling center repairs and $235,000 to a new plow for the Highway Department.