4-Day Week Urged for County Workers : Government: Budget panel says switching most employees to 10-hour days would save at least $650,000 a year. Critics say other measures should be tried first.

A budget committee of top-ranking Ventura County officials recommended on Thursday that the supervisors adopt a four-day workweek for county employees beginning as early as May 23.

The compressed workweek would leave most county offices closed one day a week, probably Fridays, saving at least $650,000 a year, officials said.

The recommendation is the first proposal to come out of the budget committee, which began meeting several months ago to devise a way to offset an expected loss of $36 million in state funding.

Under the plan, most employees would be required to work 10-hour days, but some may be given the option of working fewer hours for lower pay, officials said.

The recommendation, which will be reviewed Tuesday by the supervisors, has already drawn criticism from one board member and a taxpayer advocate who said the county should consider implementing other cost-saving measures before shortening the week.

“I think it’s a mistake,” Supervisor Maria E. VanderKolk said. “We will not get the same productivity from people working four 10-hour days instead of five eight-hour days.”

She also said it would be more difficult for parents to find child care. “There are a lot of people whose day-care providers won’t work those kind of hours,” VanderKolk said. “That will cause a real hardship.”

H. Jere Robings, president of the Ventura County Alliance of Taxpayers, said residents would suffer under the proposal because they would have fewer days to conduct business with the county.

“It just puts the burden on the public,” he said.

But other ranking administrators said the reduced schedule might be one of the county’s best options of slashing its budget. So far, Thousand Oaks, Oxnard and Simi Valley have taken similar action to cut costs.

“We can save jobs and save money,” said county Personnel Director Ron Komers, who is one of about a dozen administrators on the committee. “But we need to take decisive action as soon as possible.”

“It has great potential,” said county Budget Manager Albert Bigler, also a committee member.

In addition to Komers and Bigler, the committee includes Supervisors Vicky Howard and Maggie Kildee, Chief Administrative Officer Richard Wittenberg, Dist. Atty. Michael D. Bradbury, Auditor-Controller Thomas O. Mahon, Health Care Agency Director Phillipp Wessels and several other department heads.

Officials said a four-day workweek would save at least $400,000 by eliminating a large portion of its ride-sharing program, which pays employees to car-pool. According to county air pollution control rules, the county could meet most smog-control codes by moving to the shortened week.

Government leaders also estimate that they could save $250,000 by simply shutting down the buildings an extra day.

So far, most of the county’s union leaders have signaled their approval of the change. They say it is more palatable than a furlough program, which would result in employees working fewer hours and taking a pay cut.

“By and large I think it’s positive,” said Barry Hammitt, executive director of the Service Employees International Union, Local 998, which represents 1,800 county workers. “It’s a real morale booster. It does save money and jobs.”

Bradbury agreed that the compressed workweek would be better than a mandatory furlough for the morale of his employees.

“My clerical staff has been extremely concerned,” he said. “They just could not afford to take a cut in salary under a furlough program. They can barely make ends meet now.”

If the supervisors adopt the program, officials will then determine a way to devise workers’ schedules to make sure all essential county services, such as the Sheriff’s Department and fire protection, continue to run efficiently.

Also, the county’s court system must operate on a five-day workweek under state code. But officials are planning to ask state lawmakers to make an exception--as they have for San Bernardino County--and allow the county to proceed with the change.

Vince Ordonez Jr., the assistant executive director of the county municipal and superior courts, said a four-day week would put a strain on the system.

“The burden falls first and foremost on the judges in the court,” he said. “It extends their workday an additional number of hours. It makes it somewhat more difficult for them to sit in a courtroom and absorb all the information.”