Supervisor Says Closing Plan Failed : Government: Roger Stanton wants county offices open every Friday. He disputes cost savings.

County Supervisor Roger R. Stanton wants to end a program of closing down county offices every other Friday because he says it has failed to achieve its cost-cutting goals.

“The bottom line is, this plan is not saving us money,” Stanton said. “We are in business to serve the people, and we should be open every working business day.”

Stanton said a staff report, which recommends that the work plan be renewed at the Board of Supervisors meeting today, is misleading and filled with inaccuracies. Furthermore, he said, the program is not only inconvenient to the public but may be costing the county money.

Under the work plan, nearly three dozen county facilities, which offer the public a range of services from welfare assistance and health care to building permits and tax collection, are closed every other Friday. Most of the offices are open longer during the week to make up for the Friday shutdowns.

When the board approved the plan in December, 1992, it was told by the administrative office that the county could save about $1.1 million because of reductions in utility costs, janitorial services, sick leave and overtime. The board was also told the program would help promote better air quality by reducing worker commutes. The plan was approved 4 to 1, with Stanton opposing.

A staff report presented to the board last week states that over a 12-month period, the county saved $562,190 in utility costs, about $100,000 in custodial costs and between $100,000 and $300,000 in employee incentives to comply with state-mandated air-quality regulations for ridership programs. The report, however, noted that sick leave time had actually increased by 10%.

*

According to the report, part of the sick leave increase may be attributed to the fact that employees are taking nine hours of sick leave because of a longer work day, instead of eight hours under a normal week.

Stanton challenges several of the report’s key findings. He said the utility savings were inflated because the staff included the savings that occurred from a vacated building that had nothing to do with the work plan.

According to calculations provided to Stanton from county officials, the utility savings were closer to $140,000.

Stanton also said he was shocked about the increase in sick leave time, and he criticized the staff report for not calculating the costs of that increase.

“They’re not presenting the negatives,” he said. Stanton’s staff estimates that the sick leave increase has cost the county about $520,000.

Without the sick leave deduction, the staff report estimated that the program saved the county between $762,190 and $962,190. Stanton, however, contends that the work plan may actually be costing the county about $236,000 or more.

“We didn’t match up to our goal,” he said. “The trial period failed.”

Supervisors Gaddi H. Vasquez and William G. Steiner said they are studying the merits of the work plan.

“I have some questions (about the staff report) that I would like to get answered,” Vasquez said. He added that the purported savings in the utilities and the increased sick leave have “raised an antenna or two.”

Supervisor Harriett M. Wieder said she supports the work plan and believes that it has achieved its cost-saving goals. She also said that the program helps reduce commuter pollution and has been adopted by many municipal governments in the county.

“I’ve had no complaints from any cities or constituents,” she said. “As of this point, I’m very supportive of the program.”

Supervisor Thomas F. Riley could not be reached for comment.

Because some of the supervisors are concerned about the staff report, a vote on the work plan may be postponed for two weeks so that County Administrator Ernie Schneider can address their questions.

*

Stanton has “raised some legitimate issues and we’re going to look at them,” Schneider said.

Stanton said the savings that did occur do not justify closing the public access to the county, particularly the offices in the Santa Ana Civic Center, 26 weekdays a year.

“These buildings are the heartbeat of the operation,” he said. “When the body is sleeping the heart still pumps. We should be open.”

Stanton said he supports giving employees flexible work schedules, provided that offices remain open five days a week. Stanton is the only supervisor who has required his office staff to work on Fridays.

According to county officials and the staff report, most employees favor the work plan that allows them to have every other Friday off.

Steiner said his primary concern is public access to county operations and services. But he added that he also supports giving employees the convenience of a flexible work schedule.

“Where those two agendas can come together, that would be the best of both worlds,” Steiner said.