City of Gonzales
CITY MANAGER DEPARTMENT
STAFF REPORT
TO: Honorable Mayor Rios and City Council
DATE: June 5, 2023
FROM: Carmen Gil, Community Engagement & Strat. Partnerships Dir.
THROUGH: Carmen Gil, Acting City Manager
SUBJECT: Resolution No. 2023-35 Declaring Juneteenth (June 19) an Official City Holiday
RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended that the City Council Adopt Resolution No. 2023-35, A Resolution of the City Council of the City of Gonzales Declaring Juneteenth (June 19) an Official City Holiday and Amending the City‘s Personnel Policy to Add Juneteenth to the List of Paid Holidays for City Employees.
BACKGROUND
On June 20, 2022, the Council instructed staff to make Juneteenth (June 19) a holiday, and at the Council meeting on December 5, 2022, the Council adopted the revised Meeting Calendar (Attachment 1) for the year, which included Juneteenth as a holiday.
REVIEW & ANALYSIS
June 19 (Juneteenth) marks the day in 1865 when the Union Army arrived in Galveston, Texas, two years after President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation and declared more than three million salves living in the Confederate states free. It was until the Army came that the State’s residents finally learned that slavery had been abolished. The following year on June 19, 1866, the first official Juneteenth celebrations took place in Texas. Since then, official celebrations have spread throughout the US in remembrance of the occasion. In 2021, it became a national holiday. Today, all but one state recognizes the day in some shape or form. Its recognition honors those who suffered as a result of slavery and helps to increase awareness of the past, present, and future struggles for equality.
ALTERNATIVES
The Council can reconsider making Juneteenth a holiday.
AGENDA
ITEM
11 BUDGET IMPACT
There is no impact to the budget as the day was already budgeted for.
CONCLUSION
It is recommended that the City Council Adopt Resolution No. 2023-35, A Resolution of the City Council of the City of Gonzales Declaring Juneteenth (June 19) an Official City Holiday and Amending the City‘s Personnel Policy to Add Juneteenth to the List of Paid Holidays for City Employees.
Attachments:
1. Council Meetings Calendar
2. Resol 2023-35 with Exhibit A