People looking for the Ironton Mayor’s Office will have to take the elevator to the third floor of the City Center building.

Starting this week, the mayor will be moving equipment and files to the new office because the old one on the second floor is too small.

“With a change in administration comes change in operations,” Mayor Rich Blankenship said. “After reviewing current operations, I’ve found that offices within the city building are not properly structured.”

The mayor’s office will now be in the old city engineer office space.

“Two years ago, city officials decided to remove the engineer’s position, thus freeing up office space in the current Public Service Department,” the mayor said.

He said that by joining the Public Service Department, Code Enforcement and mayor’s offices into a single space, it would provide full services to residents from one-stop shop facility. “From a professional stand point, we need to establish a professional atmosphere when conducting business,” Blankenship said. “Currently, people have to go to different parts of the building to maintain ordinance and resolutions, building permits and drafting documents.”

He said the goal is to provide quality services and at the same time, run city offices more efficient and effectively. It will also help with the security in the city water department.

“Having this department so accessible is not safe,” Blankenship said. “We will install a safety devise that will only allow certain people access inside the office. I have a duty to provide a safe environment to the public and to our employees.”

He added the changes will take place over the next few months.

and asked residents to be patient until the changes are implemented.