Santa Clarita / Antelope Valley : Periodic 4-Day Week Weighed for Santa Clarita Employees

It’s all a matter of time for city employees.

Santa Clarita has staffed City Hall with half the usual number of workers every Monday, giving half the work force a day off every other Monday for the past two years. Department heads say this system creates difficulty for residents trying to contact city employees, slows productivity as employees cover for missing workers and limits when staff meetings can be scheduled.

City Council members are trying to decide if it’s better to have city offices half-staffed Mondays or closed completely every other Friday.

The modified schedules are part of Santa Clarita’s efforts to meet South Coast Air Quality Management District standards. The AQMD requires employers with 100 or more employees to reduce the number of trips made in cars to work by encouraging car-pooling or alternative transportation such as public transit or bicycling.

The council Tuesday continued discussion of the matter while staff members take a closer look at AQMD standards and how important the staggered schedules are to meet them.

There are about 185 full-time city employees.

If approved, the new schedule would shut down city offices every other Friday and extend employees’ work day from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. The move would also better align city schedules with Los Angeles County Public Works, Regional Planning and other offices that are closed every Friday.