1 STAFF REPORT
DATE: August 23, 2022
TO: Justin Hess, City Manager
FROM: Betsy McClinton, Management Services Director
BY: Katie Picha, Senior Administrative Analyst
SUBJECT: Adoption of a Resolution Designating Juneteenth National Independence Day as a Holiday for City Employees
RECOMMENDATION:
Adopt A RESOLUTION OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BURBANK
ESTABLISHING JUNETEENTH NATIONAL INDEPENDENCE DAY AS CITY OF BURBANK OBSERVED HOLIDAY.
BACKGROUND
Juneteenth is the oldest known celebration commemorating the ending of slavery in the United States. On January 1, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which declared that, within the rebellious states , “all persons held as slaves are, and henceforward shall be free.”
On June 19, 1865, the news that the war had ended and the enslaved were free reached Galveston, Texas, two and a half years after President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation. One of Gen eral Gordon Granger ’s first orders of business was to read to the people of Texas “General Order Number 3”, after which, established tradition and the Juneteenth celebration was instituted.
General Order Number 3 began:
"The people of Texas are informed that in accordance with a Proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing betw een them becomes that between employer and hired laborer."
Juneteenth, a combination of the words June and Nineteenth, has not only become a time to rejoice, but to reflect. In honor of the celebration, Juneteenth has become a period set aside for self -improvement, planning for the future, and
MANAGEMENT
SERVICES
2 most of all, a moment to remember the cost of slavery and the price of freedom.
The Juneteenth celebration continues to grow within communities throughout the country. The holiday promotes and cultivates knowledge and appreciation of African American history and culture.
DISCUSSION
Juneteenth National Independence Day was designated a Federal holiday in the United States by President Joe Biden on June 17, 2021, and is observed annually on June 19
th.
In the State of California, Santa Clara County was the first agency to designate Juneteenth as an observed holiday. A survey, conducted by City staff, found that Los Angeles County observed their first Juneteenth this year and several other public agencies, including t he City of Beverly Hills, City of Los Angeles, and Riverside County anticipate implementing Juneteenth as a holiday within the next two years. The City of Burbank would not only be aligned with other local agencies, it would be setting the precedent for ot her agencies to follow.
The proposed resolution included with this report would designate Juneteenth as a holiday for City employees, thereby providing for the closure of City facilities for the day, as permitted by Burbank Municipal Code § 2- 1-608.
The impacts on employees of designating Juneteenth as a City -observed holiday are subject to meet and confer with the City’s labor groups. The City’s Management Services Department will lead the meet and confer process, which will take place prior to the f irst observation of the Juneteenth holiday in 2023. It is staff’s intention to make Juneteenth a paid holiday for City employees.
If approved, the City’s list of holidays for which City facilities are closed would look as follows:
Date Observed Holiday
January 1 New Year’s Day
Third Monday in January Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Third Monday in February Presidents’ Day
Last Monday in May Memorial Day
June 19 Juneteenth National Independence Day
July 4 Independence Day
First Monday in September Labor Day
November 11 Veterans Day
Fourth Thursday of November Thanksgiving Day
Friday following Thanksgiving Day After Thanksgiving
December 25 Christmas
FISCAL IMPACT
The Management Services Department worked with Financial Services and all City departments to conduct a fiscal impact assessment. The assessment 3 revealed a minimum cost of approximately $225,000 annually to implement Juneteenth as a City holiday. The asses sment took into consideration overtime costs, the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) rate, and employee benefits. This estimate includes:
• Additional holiday pay of approximately $210,108.39 for Police and Fire safety employees, part time employees represented by the Burbank Employees Association, and certain positions in Public Works . • An estimated $11,000 for the following Parks & Recreation sections:
Landscape (five employees to clean and maintain parks), Aquatics (pool operation at reduced hours), and the Burbank Animal Shelter (limited patrol and care) .
• Approximately $23,000 for Burbank Water and Power operations . • Additional unknown overtime costs for the City Attorney’s Office ’s Prosecution and Litigation support staff should the Los Angeles County courts remain open.
It should be noted that this is a minimum estimate which is subject to change based on staffing requirements and operational needs. To address the estimated fiscal impact for fiscal year (FY) 2022- 23, staff is requesting City Council authority to amend the FY 2022- 23 Adopted Budget by appropriating $116,500 from account number 001.ND000.30010.0000.000000.00000 (General Fund, Non- Depar tmental, Unassigned Fund Balance) to expenditure account number 001.ND01A.60018.0000.000000.00000 (General Fund, Non- Departmental, Holding Salaries) for the Juneteenth National Independence Day. These funds will cover General Fund expenses related to the holiday beginning in calendar year 2023. Burbank Water and Power has sufficient funds in its existing budget to cover the minimal increase identified.
CONCLUSION
Instituting Juneteenth as a City observed holiday is culturally and inclusively overdue. Juneteenth is an important opportunity to remember our country’s past intolerance while working towards equality and to recognize the extraordinary contributions African Americans have made to our society and community.
Adoption of this resolution by City Council to observe this holiday , along with the requested budget amendment for FY 2022- 23, will provide a day of reflection, commemoration, and togetherness for our community while cultivating knowledge and appreciation for African American histor y and culture.
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment 1 – Resolution to Establish Juneteenth as a City Observed Holiday