Central Time is "official" time ... but
Most of Pulaski County appears
determined to observe Eastern Time

The commissioners and council members share their frustrations.

By Karen Clem Fritz

Begin as you intend to go on ...

It appears this sage advice will become Pulaski County's motto with the change to Daylight time, Sunday (April 2).

Most Pulaski County residents and businesses have stated their intent to set their clocks ahead one hour April 2 and begin observing Eastern Daylight Time - the time county leaders have petitioned the federal government to place Pulaski County on.

Until the petition is approved, however, Central time will be Pulaski County's "official" time - even if few plan to follow it.

Under pressure from federal regulators, the Pulaski County Commissioners and County Council felt forced earlier this week to back down from their Feb. 6 home rule declaration to follow Eastern Time, if the petition had not been approved by Sunday’s change to Daylight Time.

Late Friday, March 24, county officials began receiving written and telephoned communications from U.S. Department of Transportation (D.O.T.) attorneys who threatened the county with legal action if they didn’t abandon their home rule declaration. The federal officials offered a new resolution, declaring that “Pulaski County and its citizens shall observe Central Time,” which they sternly recommended county officials approve before the April 2 time change.

In a hastily called joint meeting last Monday morning (March 27), the commissioners and council members shared the weekend developments with about 30 citizens who had managed to learn of the meeting.

UPDATE: Official Central Time or unofficial Eastern Time. Which will you observe, beginning Sunday? To observe Central Daylight Time, Pulaski County’s official time designation, you need do nothing to your clocks. Those who choose to follow Eastern Daylight Time will need to advance their clocks one hour ahead. This will align them with Cass, Fulton, Marshall, St. Joseph, White, Tippecanoe counties, and most of the rest of Indiana. This is the “commerce time” that the county schools, hospital, banks and most businesses and industry have indicated they will follow.| In any event, some confusion and frustration appears inevitable until the petition request is resolved. (For one thing, most cell phones will probably read Central time.) Pulaski County has been told not to expect a ruling by the US Department of Transportation (DOT) on its petition for Eastern Time until at least July, and perhaps not until autumn.

Speaking for the local officials present, Commissioner Mike Tiede expressed their frustrations with the late-developing circumstances, their desire to have the county on Eastern Time - and their inability to ignore the threats of the DOT officials.

"We're for Eastern Time, too," Tiede told those attending the meeting. "But we have our hands tied with federal funds."

The commissioners had been told federal funding and grants for county projects could be put in jeopardy. At risk was $1.4 million for a new Tippecanoe River bridge project at Monterey, $100,000 for a runway resurface project at the airport, plus voting machines for the election, and other items.

The commissioners and council members did voice their objections to language in the proposed resolution which stated Pulaski County residents “shall observe Central time.” The local officials expressed no desire to serve as “time police” for the residents of the county.

So in the end, they approved the DOT resolution, declaring county government would observe Central time, but amended it to change the language from citizens “shall” to citizens will “be encouraged to” observe Central time.

Then, in a second joint resolution, the commissioners and council followed the only avenue left to them and set courthouse hours from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Central Time, which is the equivalent of 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Eastern Time - the hours the courthouse normally operates under.

The Isis movie theater in Winamac has adjusted its show times to accommodate both time zones. A separate sign gives movie times for residents of Starke County on Central Time.

Too late to change now?

As soon as the meeting ended it was immediately apparent that the DOT’s last-minute machinations and the commissioners’ and council’s retreat from home rule was far, far too late for most residents and businesses to make the adjustment by tomorrow’s time change.

The superintendents of Eastern Pulaski and West Central schools, present at the meeting, immediately announced their intentions to observe Eastern time - or “commerce time” as they decided to call it.

The students and staff of both schools have been away on spring break this past week, and West Central Supt. Charles Mellon explained he could not tell them Sunday night to suddenly adjust to Central time on Monday morning.

In addition, the schools have activity schedules and vocational classes with schools and organizations in counties in the Eastern time zone which cannot be adjusted on such short notice.

Pulaski Memorial Hospital also instantly announced it plans to observe Eastern time.

“We have a number of specialty physicians who come to PMH from Eastern time zone counties to see our patients,” administrator Rick Mynark explains. “The majority of our home health care clientele also reside in Eastern time counties.”

County banks quickly announced their intention of observing Eastern time, too.

When word began to spread Monday afternoon that the schools, hospital, banks and many of the larger industrial employers were going to move their clocks ahead and observe Eastern Daylight Time, beginning this week, most other businesses began to fall in line.

A few businesses opted to follow the example of the courthouse and declare intentions to observe Central time, but they reset their office and shift hours so that - in practice - they will be equivalent to Eastern time.

The post office in Winamac has placed two clocks in its lobby - one showing “official” Central time, and one reflecting the new locally coined “commerce time” which is the same as Eastern time.

Quite a lot of confusion and frustration circulated throughout the county in the first 48 hours following Monday morning’s joint commissioners/council meeting when media outside the county reported the news that Pulaski County would officially observe Central time, but failed to pick up on the plans of residents and businesses to “practice” Eastern time.

By late Wednesday, however, Chamber of Commerce representatives were fielding many phone calls from news outlets and confirming that Pulaski County government would observe Central time, but most businesses and residents would follow commerce (Eastern) time.

What happened to home rule?

The commissioners and council members were asked Monday morning why Pulaski County couldn’t adopt home rule, when other counties in the state have used it in the past to observe Daylight time.
It was explained that those counties were choosing not to follow state policy on Daylight Time. It was this practice that apparently led local officials to believe that Pulaski County could also invoke home rule on the time issue.

And at the Feb. 6 commissioners/council meeting, both councilman Sam Frain and Tiede said they had been assured by state officials that home rule was a legal option.

But federal officials informed the commissioners and council Friday, March 24 that no precedent exists for local home rule superseding a federal decision.

County attorney Alan Hizer said that if county officials had refused Monday to declare the county would follow Central time, the US Department of Justice would possibly file a petition against the county in court. He added that such an action would probably cost the county “a lot of money” to respond to in court. "And I'm not sure it would be successful,” he said.

Local leaders note it was not the intent of home rule to defy federal regulators.

Rather it was to spare county residents the confusion and inconvenience of observing Central time now, only to be switched to Eastern time when the county’s petition is approved - as local leaders continue to have every expectation that it will be.
Indeed, Tiede reports that DOT workers are helping Pulaski County officials with the paperwork and requirements needed to process the county’s request to be placed on Eastern time.

After the Feb. 6 local hearing, the overflowing crowd of business representatives and citizens eagerly embraced the local government resolution to observe Eastern time, either officially or through home rule. They also saw no reason or logic to begin observing Central time only to be switched later (perhaps even within three months) to Eastern.

That reasoning apparently continues to be the guidepost for most local commerce.

Changing clocks ... Oh my!

Tomorrow, nearly all of Indiana will “spring forward” to begin observing Daylight time, whether they are on Eastern or Central time. For most Hoosiers it will be the first time in decades they have had to reset their clocks.

That, in itself, is an issue that has many Pulaski County residents grumbling, as well as fellow Hoosiers across the state. Gov. Mitch Daniels lobbied extensively for the legislation last year that created Daylight time for all of Indiana, saying it would eliminate confusion and boost commerce. It gained final legislative passage by a single vote in the House.

Pulaski County earlier declares home rule - Click here.