4-Day Week Approved for County Planning Agency : Government: The 125 employees will join 1,600 in the Public Works Department who already work 10-hour shifts. The program is designed to cut smog and traffic.

Expanding a novel program designed to cut smog and traffic congestion in downtown Los Angeles, the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday voted to shut down operations of a second county agency on Fridays.

All 125 employees of the Department of Regional Planning will join 1,600 employees of the Department of Public Works in 10-hour-a-day, Monday-through-Thursday work schedules. The Planning Department’s office in the Hall of Records will be closed Fridays.

Supervisor Ed Edelman, who cast the lone vote against the new hours, said, “I think that county departments should serve the public five days a week, not four.”

Planning Director Jim Hartl contended that the longer hours of 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays would be more convenient to the public. Service hours now run from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. “Currently, many citizens must take off time from their jobs to utilize our services,” he said. The new work schedule is tentatively set to begin in late March.

The Department of Public Works in September, 1990, became the first county agency to go on the four-day, 10-hour-a-day work schedule. Emergency crews are still available all week long. Public works officials say the new office schedule has received an overwhelmingly favorable response from the public. A number of local cities also have implemented four-day workweeks.

The new work schedules are in response to a directive from the South Coast Air Quality Management District for major employees to reduce travel by workers.

County officials estimate that closing the Department of Public Works headquarters on Fridays eliminates more than 50,000 miles of travel each Friday, removes 1,388 pounds of pollutants from the air each week and reduces fuel consumption by 2,231 gallons per week.

Hartl said shutting down the Planning Department on Fridays will save $169,000 a year by increasing employee productivity, including eliminating two breaks per week, and reducing building operating costs.

County planners oversee land development in the sprawling unincorporated territory.

Supervisor Mike Antonovich said the new work schedule “helps the consumer because you have more productive employees. It helps the commuter because it reduces congestion. It helps the region because it reduces smog.”

Hartl assured supervisors that a zoning enforcement agent will be available Fridays by beeper for emergencies. But, he noted, “traditionally, public contact has been slow on Fridays.”