Budget Cutbacks Force Holiday Closures For Bay Area City Services
SAN JOSE (KCBS) -- An emerging trend in the Bay Area has residents hurrying to take care of business as city halls are shutting down or reducing hours the last week of December in order to save a few bucks.
For San Jose, the idea of closing City Hall for the holidays is nothing new.
"San Jose has actually been doing a holiday furlough for a couple of decades now," said city spokesman Tom Manheim who added that their City Hall will close from December 22nd to January 3rd.
<strong>KCBS' Chris Filippi Reports:</strong>
Manheim added that community centers will close and libraries will be on reduced hours between Christmas and New Year.
Unpaid furlough days will also be in effect at Oakland City Hall for the week between Christmas and New Year's.
There, City spokesperson Karen Boyd said that it is part of a budget cutback process that unions and city management agreed to.
"We've had a total of 12 days this fiscal year and 12 days last fiscal year," Boyd said of the unpaid days.
Concord, Pinole and Walnut Creek are among many other Bay Area cities that will close their city halls the last week of December.
All of the cities will still provide emergency services throughout the holidays.
Meanwhile, San Francisco City Hall will remain open the week after Christmas with reduced staffing.
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