ARCADIA: Beginning next week, City Hall will...

ARCADIA: Beginning next week, City Hall will extend its hours Monday through Thursday and close on alternate Fridays, beginning Sept. 2. The new hours Monday through Thursday will be 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. The City Council approved the change to comply with the regional air quality board requirements to reduce employees’ vehicle trips. On the Fridays that City Hall is open, the hours will be 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

ARCADIA: After seven months as interim city manager, William Kelly has been appointed permanently to the $86,000-a-year position. The appointment came on a unanimous vote of the council. Kelly replaces Donald Duckworth, who resigned amid controversy that he was not following council directives.

BRADBURY: Council members have hired David D. Meyer as city planner and Dan W. Hell as city engineer on a contract basis at a combined cost of $1,600 a month to help its staff of three full-time employees. The 839-resident city has a city manager, a city clerk and an administrative aide. It also has a contract city attorney.

DUARTE: The City Council again has voted to withdraw a November ballot measure that would have allowed voters to decide whether to implement a 3% utility tax. The council took the action because the county clerk’s office required a written resolution. Last month’s vote--reversing a June resolution to place the tax on the ballot--was taken without its being placed on the council’s formal agenda. Leaders of the Duarte Taxpayers Group called that vote a violation of the state’s open meetings law and have vowed to recall the council if it implements the tax without the approval of voters.