City officials will seek five-day work week opposed by Teamsters Union

Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2005 | 8:17 a.m.

Two weeks after Teamsters overwhelmingly rejected a contract with North Las Vegas, the city plans to pursue talks with the union about opening City Hall on Fridays.

The city and business community's push for Friday hours at City Hall has long been opposed by Teamsters Local 14, whose leadership predicts that issue -- along with the next employee contract -- will be decided by an arbitrator.

Earlier this month the Teamsters, who have been working without a contract since July 1, rejected the city's latest offer, with only two of nearly 500 members supporting it, said Gary Mauger, Local 14's chief executive.

Proponents of opening City Hall on Friday received a boost from a recent city-commissioned management audit that said North Las Vegas needs to stop acting like a small town and more like a big city. The report called for employees going from a 36-hour work week to a 40-hour week and opening City Hall on Friday to increase productivity and provide better services.

Having such a curtailed work week casts a negative image with the public, which is reluctant to support more staff, the audit said. North Las Vegas already pays wages that are competitive for a 40-hour work week compared to other Las Vegas area governments, at an annual cost of $10.8 million.

Las Vegas and Clark County offices are open on Fridays, and Henderson, where employees work a 38-hour shift, provides most services on a Monday-through-Friday schedule.

"Being closed on Fridays is a competitive disadvantage," said the audit, conducted by San Jose, Calif.-based Management Partners.

The development community wants Friday services for building permits, plans checks and business licenses, supporters said.

"This is the third-fastest growing city in the country, and it is time to operate it like a business," said Sharon Powers, executive director of the North Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce.

"This is not a small bedroom community anymore. It is a growing and vibrant city with incredible potential, and it is time to stop operating like we have for the last decade."

North Las Vegas enacted a 36-hour, four-day workweek in 1977 because the city could not afford pay raises and offered a curtailed schedule instead.

It would cost $20 million to launch a Friday schedule, Mauger said.

Other officials, however, said the cost of providing Friday service has not been determined, because the price tag depends on which services are provided and how the workweek is staggered.

The Teamsters cover a variety of jobs, including civilians in the police department and detention center, building inspectors and street and park maintenance workers, personnel staff, recreation staff, management analysts, planners and some managers.

Brian Wargo can be reached at 259-4011 or at wargo@lasvegassun.com.