Supervisors Vote 4 to 1 to Scrap 4-Day Workweek

The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday scrapped county government’s embattled four-day workweek, ending a bold experiment that boosted employee morale but generated a rising chorus of anger from a public accustomed to doing business five days a week.

Supervisors voted 4 to 1 to return county government to a five-day week--effective July 1--despite reported savings of about $900,000 a year brought on when the county switched to the shortened work schedule nearly three years ago.

“We must find a way to serve the public,” said Supervisor Judy Mikels, acknowledging that many residents have been angered and inconvenienced by the four-day schedule. “I believe that county government, or government of any sort, is here for one reason and one reason only, and that is to serve the general public that pays for it.”

Supervisor Susan K. Lacey cast the only dissenting vote, saying she wanted more analysis.

In coming weeks, department managers will fashion a plan to extend the workweek, including exploring the use of staggered shifts that could allow some departments to keep employees on four-day schedules and still remain open five days a week.

A return to a five-day schedule is expected to cost the county about $295,000 a year for utilities and other fixed expenses.

But county leaders said Tuesday that they hope to recoup the bulk of those costs through a state law that allows the county clerk’s office to raise the recording fee by $1, as long as the office is open five days a week. That fee hike would generate an estimated $275,000 a year.

“That pretty much covers the costs,” Supervisor Frank Schillo said. “The reason we haven’t [raised the fee] before is because we didn’t have a five-day workweek.”

The Board of Supervisors adopted the four-day work schedule to satisfy federal air pollution rules requiring large employers to reduce the number of vehicles making the morning commute to work.

The idea was to compress the 40-hour workweek into four 10-hour days, thus eliminating the need for about 2,400 county employees to drive their air-polluting vehicles to work on Fridays.

Ending the four-day workweek became possible earlier this year when the federal government eased its air pollution rules. In response, the county’s Air Pollution Control District proposed new smog-control rules giving more flexibility in helping to keep the air clean.

The city of Thousand Oaks, the only other government agency in Ventura County to adopt the four-day week, is also considering a return to a more traditional work schedule.

“I think it was an idea that was tried in good faith under the existing rule, but in some places, it resulted in a decrease in services,” said Mayor Andy Fox, who believes that Thousand Oaks city government will reopen for business five days a week in coming months. “If you can’t do it as well four days a week, then you should go back to five.”

At the County Government Center, the four-day workweek did what it set out to do. The county met trip reduction goals established to fight air pollution. At the same time, the compressed work schedule generated cost savings at a time of budget deficits and belt tightening.

Furthermore, the four-day week improved employee morale. According to an employee survey, 83% of county workers reported that they were either very satisfied or generally satisfied with the shortened schedule.

But employees said they knew that the four-day workweek was on its way out, noting that getting rid of the compressed schedule had become a key issue in last month’s election for three supervisorial seats.

Nevertheless, employee representatives urged the board Tuesday to keep the four-day schedule in place.

“It’s an idea that has worked,” said employees’ union President Steve Wood, a county planner who argued that the four-day workweek had saved money and met air pollution reduction goals. “Those projections have been met and, for the most part, public service has not been disrupted.”

But ultimately, supervisors heeded a rising tide of public sentiment that held that a four-day work schedule was not a good way for government to do business.

“We’re subjected to a partial shutdown of our county government every week,” Saticoy farmer Jim Lloyd-Butler told supervisors. “I don’t think we’re getting 10 hours work when we’re paying for a 10-hour day.”

Diane Zimmerman, representing the Ventura County Escrow Assn., said the shortened workweek caused numerous problems in the real estate industry, including delays in loans and real estate transactions because county offices couldn’t record paperwork on Fridays.

“I urge you to return to the five-day workweek,” she told the board. “It seems to me if you’re here for the residents of the county of Ventura, five days makes better sense.”

Supervisor Maggie Kildee--who Tuesday favored a return to the five-day workweek, reversing her vote of three years ago--said she hopes that the action spurs exploration of smog-reducing alternatives such as telecommuting and development of converting the county’s fleet of vehicles to cleaner-burning fuels.

“We’ve had some good come out of the four-day workweek,” she said. “We need to find a way to keep the good and remedy the bad.”

Times staff writer Miguel Bustillo contributed to this report.