City Council
MEETING DATE: 9/9/2015
TITLE:
Title
City Hall Business Hours
End
FROM:
Tami Scott, Administrative Services Director
RECOMMENDATION:
Recommendation
This is a presentation only, no action required from the City Council
Body
BACKGROUND:
Based on feedback received from residents, Councilmember Kaplan requested a Study Session discussion on the hours of operation at City Hall.
DISCUSSION:
Cathedral City adopted a four-day, forty hour work week for City Hall in 1998. Since that time hours of operation have been from 7:00 am to 6:00 pm Monday through Thursday and closed on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. There was a period of time when City Hall was closed over the lunch hour, but that was changed earlier this year and City Hall is now open the entire time from 7 am to 6 pm.
Advantages of the compressed work week include the following:
-Services are available to the public earlier in the morning and later in the evening allowing residents to conduct business with the City before or after work.
-It is a recruiting advantage when filling staff positions, helping the City to be more competitive for staff.
-There are energy savings advantages.
-There are air quality advantages with commutes occurring only four days per week instead of five.
-Employees are able to schedule appointments on Fridays resulting in reduced absenteeism.
Disadvantages of the compressed work week include the following:
-Some services are not available on Friday, although many exempt employees work remotely on Fridays and many services such as inspections are available if scheduled.
-Perception that it is for the benefit of City employees rather than the public.
-Some businesses, including real estate and others cite Fridays as a key time when they need City services.
-There is a perception among some that hours of operation are reduced with the compressed work week.
Staff surveyed other Cities in the area to determine normal hours of operation at each:
Agency Days Hours Total Weekly Hours
Banning M-Th 7-5 40
Beaumont M-Th 8-5 + 8-12 Fri 40
Cathedral City M-Th 7-6 44
Coachella M-Th 7-6 44
Desert Hot Spgs M-Th 7-6 44
Indian Wells M-F 8-5 45
Indio M-F 8-5 45
La Quinta M-Th+ alt Fri 7:30-5:30 44
Palm Desert M-F 8-5 45
Palm Springs M-Th 8-6 40
Additionally, Riverside County offices are open 8-5 Monday through Friday but staff work 4-10 schedules with half staffing occurring on Fridays in most cases.
FISCAL IMPACT:
None.
ATTACHMENTS:
None