This past week, Q-line asked: “Do you think City Hall should be open five days a week? Why or why not?”
Here are your responses: TIMES BY LLOYD GARVER ✆ “Of course they should be open five days a week like any other normal, functioning, service center that serves the public needs. Ah, but therein lies the dilemma. No matter how many days or hours these ineffectuals were open or in operation, the public will still come up wanting. Lots of revamping needs to be done, top to bottom.” ✆ “I agree that city employees get extra time off, but not for the reasons mentioned — traffic and pollution. Santa Monica has Pacific Coast Highway to the west and the 10 freeway to the south, with Wilshire and Santa Monica boulevards in between. All are quagmires of pollution. I am willing to free up city employees a couple of extra days a month due to the amount of haranguing they receive on a daily basis. Residents do not call City Hall because they are pleased. For the most part, they call to complain. This can have an illing effect on the recipients of these calls. They need the extra rest to stay well. I also wish to say that each time I have called the city with a righteous complaint, the city has responded immediately, especially in those areas of public safety. I sincerely thank and appreciate the city of Santa Monica’s employees for their efforts.” ✆ “The building and safety departments should definitely be open five days a week and, in fact, probably having extended hours, maybe staying open an hour or two later in the evening, or maybe opening an hour earlier in the morning. Meanwhile, the Rent Control Board should permanently close.
There’s no need for them anymore. So, we can create some additional space in City Hall with the departure of that particular department. After 25 years, say good-bye, guys.” ✆ “I think we would all be better off, instead of City Hall being open five days a week, it should be closed five days a week.” ✆ “I have definitely strong feelings about the four-days-a-week work. I lived and worked in Santa Monica for the last 35 years. My feelings are, if you like working for the city and serving the public, you should give 100 percent to serve the public. If you don’t like the five days’ work, you should find another job some place else.” ✆ “Yes, I think it’s excellent that the Santa Monica offices are closed on Fridays. We need to conserve a lot of our energy. I think it’s wonderful.” ✆ “The work week for the City Hall employees should be a total of five days, 40 hours per week, only Monday through Friday. The formula has been used here over the past number of years, since 1990. Eighty hours a week in nine days? What’s that mean? I don’t get it. Does that mean after 40 hours in the five days of work, that they receive the additional pay of 40 hours at premium overtime pay? That’s wrong, wrong, wrong. Remember, the actual City Hall offices are closed every day after 4 p.m. and 5 p.m. and (allow) no access either by telephone or in person.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on September 25, 2004. Read the original PDF.