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Arizonans looking for state services might find the days they can get them reduced by 20 percent.

Gov. Janet Napolitano has directed the Department of Administration to study whether the state should put at least some of its employees on a four-day workweek. That would put Arizona in line with Utah, whose governor, Jon Huntsman, ordered the change to save money while reducing energy use and pollution.

The study comes as the Casa Grande school district and the town of Sahuarita are debating similar proposals. (See Sahuarita story on AzStarBiz.com)

A recommendation from the Department of Administration could be ready by the end of the month.

"There's obviously pros and cons," the governor said. And Napolitano said that while the concept might work for certain services, it would make no sense for others. But she did not spell out which services she thinks might end up on a four-day schedule.

That kind of schedule promotes various types of savings.

If nothing else, having workers commute 20 percent less would result in less air pollution and less fuel use. And if state offices are closed on Fridays, that saves the cost of lighting and air conditioning or heating.

Alan Ecker, spokesman for the Department of Administration, said his agency is checking other governments elsewhere that have implemented a four-day workweek.

Utah is, to this point, no help: The change will not occur until later this summer. But there are communities such as Birmingham, Ala., that have employees working 10-hour shifts four days a week.

Ecker said one thing being explored is the pattern being used there: The offices remain open five days a week, with some employees getting Mondays off and others taking off the last day of the week. That ensures that residents are able to access services during what otherwise would be normal Monday-through-Friday business hours.

But closer to home, the city of Avondale, west of Phoenix, instituted a "green Friday" program last month, opting to keep most of its offices open from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday. And Queen Creek followed suit more than two weeks ago with its own Monday-through-Thursday pilot program.

Ecker said one factor to consider is whether to force state workers into a four-day week, which is what is happening in those two communities. And he agreed with Napolitano that whatever proposal is adopted likely will not be applied to all state agencies.

"What we've found preliminarily is that a one-size-fits-all (system) probably isn't the way to go," he said.

Related story: Sahuarita looks at shorter workweek.