PASADENA : City Hall to Close Every Other Friday to Cut Costs

Starting this week, Pasadena City Hall will be closed every other Friday, saving the city about $275,000 a year in utility bills and incentives paid to city workers for ride-sharing, city officials said.

The loss of a biweekly day will not affect levels of service, officials said. Most services will actually increase an hour a day, they said, with offices opening half an hour earlier, at 7:30 a.m., and closing half an hour later, at 5:30 p.m., to compensate for the loss of the Friday.

The first closed Friday will be April 30. Not affected will be libraries, community centers, police patrols and emergency services, street sweeping, and trash pickup, spokeswoman Ann Erdman said.

“In addition to cost savings, the new shift means fewer cars on the road and helps Pasadena . . . to reduce air pollution in the South Coast Air Basin,” Erdman said.