PD Editorial: Furloughs may work for the budget, but do they work for the public?

<p>Budgetary implosions at almost every level of government have left the public to grapple with a confusing system of closures of government offices.</p><p>Consider these recent scheduling changes:</p><p>* The state Department of Motor Vehicles is now closed on the first three Fridays of the month.</p><p>* Courts are closed on the third Wednesday of every month.</p><p>* The city of Santa Rosa offices are closed every other Friday.</p><p>* Sonoma County offices will be closed from Christmas Eve through Jan. 3.</p><p>* Meanwhile, Sonoma State University will begin mid-week closures of its campus twice a month beginning on Nov. 27.</p><p>Got all that? It’s no wonder the public is confused and frustrated. And government officials, in some cases, are doing a poor job of making this transition easy for the public.</p><p>As Staff Writer Paul Payne reported last week, Jason Moore of Santa Rosa took a day off of work on Wednesday to go to Sonoma County Superior Court to deal with a speeding ticket. He was responding to the “notice to appear” on his ticket with hopes of talking to a judge. But nobody was around. The courts were closed.</p><p>“It’s very agitating,” he said. Taking the day off cost him $160, he said.</p><p>Moore wasn’t alone. Forty other people also showed up as directed by the notice on their tickets. </p><p>Court officials say it was just a glitch in the system that won’t happen again. But public frustration over these furloughs, rotating days off and “mandatory time off” extends beyond the courts.</p><p>On Tuesday, Staff Writer Derek J. Moore reported how Britt VanGiesen, a Calistoga winery employee, waited more than 2½ hours in line at the state Department of Motor Vehicles office in Santa Rosa.</p><p>Because of furloughs on Fridays, the waits at the DMV have gotten much worse. According to DMV figures, the number of customers who have waited more than an hour for service jumped from 6 percent in September 2008 to 16 percent this year. Twenty-four customers waited more than two hours last month.</p><p>“This is insane,” VanGiesen said.</p><p>We agree. From our perspective, one problem is that the public is most impacted by these office closures but the least represented in discussions about when they will occur.</p><p>For example, Sonoma County supervisors in August decided to close county offices between Dec. 24 and Jan. 3 as part of a “mandatory time-off” agreement with Sonoma County public employee unions. Supervisors hailed the unions for agreeing to the closures. But did anyone talk to the public?</p><p>We understand the need to cut budgets. Governments have had no choice. But instead of another furlough next time, how about a straight across-the-board salary cut, the kind being experienced in the private sector?</p><p>Many in private industry these days are working more hours, not fewer, for less pay. They shouldn’t also have to risk losing more income in hopes that when they stop by the courts or the DMV they will actually be open.</p>