City Council
MEETING DATE: 6/8/2016
TITLE:
Title
City Hall Business Hours
End
FROM:
Charlie McClendon, City Manager
RECOMMENDATION:
Recommendation
This item is presented for information, discussion and direction only.
Body
BACKGROUND:
Among the goals adopted by Council for 2016 was a statement that staff should evaluate the options, costs and benefits of potentially expanding City Hall hours to include Fridays. The topic was previously discussed at a study session on September 9, 2015 and Council did not proceed with making any changes at that time.
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.
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.
-Phone records indicate there is a high demand for the early morning hours provided by the existing schedule.
-Many services are still provided on Fridays with advance appointments. Department Heads and Division Managers make themselves available when necessary.
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 40
Indio M-F 8-5 40
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
Rancho Mirage M-F 8-5 40
Additionally, Riverside County offices are open 8-5 Monday through Friday but employees work 4-10 schedules with half staffing occurring on Fridays in most cases.
City departments were asked to evaluate options and report on what would be necessary in their respective departments to facilitate opening on Fridays. Among the options considered were the following:
-Keeping employees on their current 4-10 work schedules but modifying days off so that some employees' schedules include Fridays as a regular work day.
-Through a meet and confer process changing employees to a 5-8 work schedule.
-Adding staff to provide adequate staffing to be open on Fridays without amending the work schedules of current staff.
-Providing only partial staffing on Fridays to take messages and schedule appointments for the upcoming week.
FISCAL IMPACT:
Opening City Hall on Fridays will result in some costs to the City, notably increased energy costs and personnel costs, which, depending on the option adopted, could be as much as $700,000.
ATTACHMENTS:
Presentation