Most Hollywood City Departments Will Only be Open Four Days a Week

Thursday will be the new Friday in Hollywood. To cut costs, commissioners yesterday passed a year-long pilot program that put most city departments on a 10-hour, four-day work schedule. Starting Monday October 3, City Hall, Annex, and old library, Visual Arts Building at Arts Park, and other departments will only be open from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday. 

But don't worry; police and fire departments will not be included in the program. Unfortunately, parking enforcement will still ticket on Fridays, too. 

The condensed work week follows 12 other cities in the tri-county area, including Pembroke Pines, Miami Gardens, and Wellington. In their study, the City of Hollywood found that these cities saved a significant amount of money—Wellington held onto an estimated $568,000 and Miramar saved $240,000 on energy usage and building operations alone. The move is expected to garner Hollywood $25,000 to $250,000 a year.

But it's not just the money that matters. According to a city survey, many employees favor of the switch. With Fridays off, they will have an extra day to run personal errands and spend more time with their families. Coming into work only four days a week will reduce wear and tear on vehicles, save gas money, and lower commuting times. Besides, the city found that Friday is already the least busy workday. 

One advantage to the public: on the days city workers are in the office buildings will no longer shutter so early. Residents will now have more time to run errands before and after work. 

One disadvantage: those people who are so damn hard to locate now will be even harder to track down.

There were many specific concerns employees had in the survey about lunch times, deduction and accrual of sick time and vacations, and child care. Critics of the plan fear that employees will not be able to withstand working a 10-hour day.  But the mayor and commissioners assured everyone that they will track residents' and employees' feedback and ultimately base their decision to implement