Agoura Hills : 5-Day Workweek Sought for City Hall

Agoura Hills City Councilman Denis Weber wants to reopen City Hall on Fridays.

Weber said he believes many in the community would like City Hall to be open five days a week instead of its current 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday schedule.

“Having been in banking my entire life, customer service is always paramount with me,” he said. “You need to be open when the public can get to you.”

The City Council has asked City Manager Dave Adams to study the situation and report back in March.

The city implemented a four-day workweek in 1993 to help meet air pollution-reduction requirements by decreasing the number of commutes made by employees. It was also expected to save a small amount of money on utilities and cut down on employee sick time.

Adams said that the South Coast Air Quality Management District has since eased requirements.

The city manager said business people, such as contractors who need to obtain building permits, do like the four-day workweek.

“The city has done surveys over the past two years and found that more business is done in those early and late hours than was ever done on Fridays,” he said.

But some have been critical of the four-day workweek, saying city officials wanted it so they could have three-day weekends. What many people don’t realize, Adams said, is that city employees work extra hours the rest of the week to make up for it.

Adams said the city has various options, including returning to the traditional 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. five days a week, or opening City Hall every other Friday and having city employees work nine-hour days.