Newport Harbor Shifts Office Hours to Cut Costs

NEWPORT BEACH — The Newport Harbor Art Museum has rearranged its office hours in an effort save money on utilities and security. As of this week, the offices are closed on Mondays, the day the galleries routinely are closed to the public.

The offices will be staffed every other Saturday and an extra hour on weekdays. The total number of hours that the office staff will work is unchanged.

The changes are the latest in a series of cost-cutting moves. Nine employees were laid off in 1992 to help reduce an accumulated deficit of more than $160,000. The layoffs were part of a 10% cut in the budget, which was $1.3 million in 1993-94.

A year ago, the Bowers Museum of Cultural Art in Santa Ana instituted a four-day, 36-hour work week for its employees in addition to a 5% pay cut. Museum officials said that cutback--which also involved closing offices on Mondays--would reduce the Bowers’ $3.6 million budget by $500,000. Comparable numbers for Newport Harbor were not available.