County offices previously closed on Fridays open again tomorrow
Beginning tomorrow — for the first time in almostfour years — Riverside County government offices that were closed on Fridaywill be open.
The Board of Supervisors last month voted unanimously to end the Fridayclosures in the interest of public service.
“Taxpayers should have access to their government on Fridays,” saidSupervisor Kevin Jeffries, a leading proponent of the schedule change.
Since Aug. 13, 2009, the County Administrative Center in downtownRiverside, as well as “non-essential” county offices in Hemet, Indio andTemecula have been closed every Friday. The board voted in favor of the weeklybuilding shutdowns as part of a cost-saving plan that coincided with mandatoryweekly furloughs of thousands of employees.
At the time, the county’s budget was in the red and reserves were beingrapidly depleted to meet payroll and cover other costs.
According to county officials, between September 2009 and August 2011,the closures netted $900,000 in savings to the general fund from lower utilityoutlays, while the furloughs reduced personnel expenditures by $73 million.
The board also voted last month to drop the 4/10 alternative workschedule as the county standard and instead adopt a 9/80 schedule.
Under the 4/10, employees generally work Monday to Thursday, putting in10-hour days. The 9/80 schedule requires workers to be on the job nine hours aday per pay period until accruing 80 hours, at which point the worker is givenan additional day off, usually every other Friday — meaning many countystaffers will still have two three-day weekends off every month.
According to Department of Human Resources chief Barbara Olivier, 36percent of county employees are on the 9/80 schedule; about a quarter are onthe 4/10 schedule.
“The 4/10 has definitely affected our ability to serve residents,”Supervisor Jeff Stone said during the board’s June 18 meeting. “People’ssocial and health issues are 24/7. The 4/10 has been kind of a luxury. We serveat the pleasure of the taxpaying public.”
According to Olivier, departmental managers will have flexibility indetermining if some employees continue to remain on 4/10 schedules, switch to9/80 or log the more typical eight hours a day, five days per week.
