”
T-G-I-T?
”
This could be the new refrain at City Hall if the council
implements a four-day work week to improve energy efficiency and
customer service and help commuting employees cope with increasing
gas prices, officials said.
“T-G-I-T?”
This could be the new refrain at City Hall if the council implements a four-day work week to improve energy efficiency and customer service and help commuting employees cope with increasing gas prices, officials said.
Dozens of cities across the country – even the entire state of Utah – have condensed their traditional Monday-through-Friday-nine-to-five work weeks to four 10-hour days, cutting utility costs and giving residents more time before and after work to visit the nation’s city halls.
For Gilroy, it would mean removing City Hall’s 145 employees – more than half the city’s total work force – from the road and turning off the air conditioning at the 30,215-square-foot building one more day a week. Councilman Craig Gartman will introduce the idea Monday and said he plans to hold a study session by July 21 to consider the idea further. City Administrator Tom Haglund said the move will help Gilroy satisfy air quality quotas and predicted it would also save the city up to 25 percent in energy costs, or nearly $35,000 a year, according to city figures.
“Governments all across the country are facing tighter budgets, and alternative work schedules reduce energy consumption in physical facilities and among city vehicles, and you’re also open an hour or two longer during the day,” Haglund said, referencing yet another alternative schedule. The “9-80” entails working 80 hours across nine days and then taking every other Friday off. Gilroy already has a “few employees here and there” operating on alternative schedules, said Human Resources Director LeeAnn McPhillips. The city of Tracy in San Joaquin County, with a population of 83,000, has used the 9-80 format for the past 12 years, according to an administrative assistant.
While the pros seem to outweigh the cons, Gartman and Haglund said the council needs to talk with the two affected unions that represent the staff who might have to rise earlier and leave later.
Sounds dandy, said Environmental Programs Assistant Leslie Wilcox, a member of the local chapter of the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees.
“I would love the council to adopt this policy for both personal and environmental reasons. Personally, I would love a three day weekend” to run errands or visit the doctor, Wilcox said. “Financially, not commuting an extra day during the week (from San Jose) would save me money. And environmentally, not commuting an extra day would reduce my emissions contribution.”
AFSCME employees also work in the police and fire departments on normal 40-hour shifts as clerical, administrative and communications personnel, but emergency employees within the departments’ unions work various 4-10s and 9-80s, according to Gilroy Police Department Sgt. Chad Gallacinao. Firefighters work staggered 24-hour shifts. Only City Hall would completely shut down on Fridays, and most of those interviewed lauded the council for addressing environmental and budgetary issues. For those with children who enjoy the city’s “family friendly” environment, though, the work week issue spans beyond dollars and pollution.
“I know for me it would be an adjustment because I have a 4-year-old bound for kindergarten, so I would have to change my day-care arrangements,” said Revenue Officer Irma Navarro, a member of the Gilroy Management Association. “But I end up working long hours anyway. Changing hours is just the buzz right now.”
Still, “change is difficult and sometimes met with resistance, but we need to take a look at the overall picture,” said Gartman. “We’re trying to save the city some money, and if we can save money, that could equate to saving some people some jobs.”
Tweaking hours will not have a “huge impact” on city managers, many of whom don’t have kids to take care of and already put in more than eight hours a day, said GMA President Dave Chulick. The city’s IT Director added that members of the GMA cannot collect overtime, so “whether they put 40 plus hours in 4 days, or they do it in five, I don’t see that changing us much.”
One thing that could change is morale and productivity.
Employees working the 4-10 schedule are less likely to report that work preempts personal activities and family time, according to a study spearheaded by Rex Facer, an assistant professor at BYU. The paper, authored by Facer and Lori Wadsworth of BYU’s Romney Institute of Public Management, appeared in the June issue of Review of Public Personnel Administration. Facer’s research team has since kept in contact with 150 HR directors across the country, estimating that about one-sixth of U.S. cities with populations more than 25,000 offer the compact week.
Much larger government agencies are also joining the trend. The board of supervisors for Riverside County east of Los Angeles voted last month to shift more county employees to work-from-home positions and four-day work weeks, according to county records.
Morgan Hill tried something slightly different in the early 1990s after lay-offs. The city closed on Fridays, but the remaining employees still worked behind locked doors to catch up, according to City Manager Ed Tewes.
“The theory was to give the fewer employees a chance to catch up and prepare reports and make phone calls, but soon members of the public expressed concern about not having full access to city services during working hours,” Tewes said. Shortly thereafter the city restored its normal hours.
Listening to its “customers” is something Gilroy will also have to do.
“We haven’t done any complete analysis, but we will certainly approach any changes from a customer service perspective,” McPhillips said.
“It’s definitely worth exploring,” said Mayor Al Pinheiro.
Exploration or not, who says “T-G-I-T”?
Bills, bills, bills…
$540,018: City’s total electricity bill for FY07-08
$121,724: Portion for City Hall and old police building (future city hall space)
$105,005: City’s natural gas bill for FY07-08
$17,977: Portion for City Hall and old police building
$139,701: Total for City Hall and old police building
Source: Gilroy Finance Department & Dispatch calculations
