ELECTIONS / COUNTY SUPERVISORS : Montgomery Faults Workers’ 4-Day Schedule

Ventura County supervisorial candidate Scott Montgomery said Tuesday if elected he would push to abolish the four-day workweek for county employees, a proposal that has met with resistance from the employees’ union and at least one other supervisorial candidate.

Montgomery said the shorter workweek is an inconvenience to taxpayers and businesses that would like to use the county clerk and recorder’s office or other services Fridays, when the County Government Center is closed. He added it is particularly difficult for realtors who want to record home sales.

“I think the detriments outweigh the benefits,” Montgomery said of the shorter workweek. “We’re not delivering the service we need to deliver.”

The county implemented the four-day workweek in June, 1993, as a means of cutting costs and smog levels by reducing the number of vehicles on the county’s roads. About one-third of the county’s employees participate in the program, working four 10-hour shifts.

A report issued in July found that the county had saved more than $1 million since the shorter workweek was adopted, mostly through savings on utilities and fewer sick days taken by employees. And the reduced trips helped the county meets its federal goals--and thus secure $6 million in highway dollars.

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But Montgomery said he raised the issue because of complaints he has heard from taxpayers. Moreover, he said, he is not convinced the four-day workweek is cost-effective, or that it significantly reduces air pollution.

“I don’t think we’re achieving the savings in air quality that we would expect,” Montgomery said, adding that the program assumes county employees do not drive on their day off.

Montgomery’s opponent, Judy Mikels, said she has long favored going back to a five-day workweek. “It’s about time he got on the bandwagon,” Mikels said of her rival.

The two candidates are competing for a seat in the 4th Supervisorial District, which covers Simi Valley, Moorpark and the Santa Rosa Valley.

Trudi Loh, a candidate in the county’s other supervisorial race, said the county could not afford to go back to a five-day schedule because of the money saved from the shorter workweek.

“We don’t have an extra million dollars to throw around,” she said.

Loh, however, said she would be willing to open the county clerk and recorder’s office Fridays.

Her opponent, Frank Schillo, could not be reached for comment Tuesday. Schillo is a councilman in Thousand Oaks, where City Hall is also closed Fridays.

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Loh and Schillo are competing for a seat in a supervisorial district covering most of the Conejo Valley and Port Hueneme.

Barry Hammitt, executive director of the county employees union, which has endorsed Montgomery and Loh in the supervisorial race, said the union does not favor abolishing the four-day workweek.

Hammitt said the county must follow its own ordinance that calls for businesses to reduce the number of daily trips employees make to and from work. He also cited the savings the county has seen as a result of the shorter workweek.

“I hate this time of the political campaign, when candidates are trying to see who can be the most outrageous,” Hammitt said. “Why can’t we talk about real issues? Like, how come we’re pouring so much money into the criminal justice system and getting zip in return? Or how can we keep our water clean?”

Also Tuesday, Montgomery called for the county to make public immediately any bids it receives for construction projects. He said Moorpark officials have not been able to acquire information on a developer’s bid to build two golf courses at Happy Camp Regional Park north of the city.

Although the county usually waits until a public hearing is scheduled before making details of a bid public, Montgomery said the information should be made available as soon as it’s received.