Hollister branch is among those closed three Fridays per
month
The Hollister branch of the Department of Motor Vehicles on
Sally Street will be closed on the second, third and fourth Fridays
of each month after Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s imposition of
furloughs on roughly 150,000 workers pending passage of the state
budget.
The furloughs were re-instituted in California’s 168 DMV offices
and a variety of other state agencies in mid-August after the
California Supreme Court stopped a lower court’s ruling blocking
them. They will be in effect until at least Sept. 8, when another
Supreme Court hearing is scheduled. Hollister’s DMV will also be
closed on Wednesday, Sept. 8 for technical equipment upgrades.
Hollister branch is among those closed three Fridays per month
The Hollister branch of the Department of Motor Vehicles on Sally Street will be closed on the second, third and fourth Fridays of each month after Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s imposition of furloughs on roughly 150,000 workers pending passage of the state budget.
The furloughs were re-instituted in California’s 168 DMV offices and a variety of other state agencies in mid-August after the California Supreme Court stopped a lower court’s ruling blocking them. They will be in effect until at least Sept. 8, when another Supreme Court hearing is scheduled. Hollister’s DMV will also be closed on Wednesday, Sept. 8 for technical equipment upgrades.
Closures of DMV offices on some Fridays have been standard since early last year, with the exception of a brief reprieve in July.
They were closed two Fridays a month from February through May of 2009, and three Fridays a month thereafter. The offices returned to their normal schedule in July, but with the state budget a month late, the governor reinstituted the furloughs in an executive order issued July 28.
DMV spokesman Mike Mirando said offices had been scheduled to close Aug. 13 as well, but that was stalled by the court action. Employees were asked to take a floating furlough day some time in August instead.
Similar furloughs last year saved the state $2 billion. New unpaid days off could add another $147 million per month to the savings. The mandatory furloughs amount to about a 14 percent pay cut for workers.
“We are running out of cash. We are forced to do anything we can to save cash,” said Aaron McLear, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s press secretary. “There are very few things the governor can do by himself to save money. Furloughs are one …. The furloughs are a direct result of the [Legislature’s] failure to pass the budget.”
People working in law enforcement and tax collection agencies, and those paid through specially earmarked funds, are exempt from the furlough order.
Mirando said the agency is attempting to call people who have made appointments on one of the closed days to reschedule. He encouraged residents to reschedule by calling the agency’s toll-free phone line at 800-777-0133 or by visiting its website, www.dmv.ca.gov.
DMV spokeswoman Jan Mendoza said workers had to reschedule appointments for nearly 15,600 people across the DMV’s field offices throughout California.
“Some people couldn’t be reached because some people don’t give a good call-back number,” she said.
Still, backlogs are unavoidable. That’s why the agency has been urging people to use its online services to avoid the long waits.
But many DMV customers said not everything can be done online, and with appointments booked up weeks in advance, showing up to wait in line is often the only option.
