photo by: Jackson Barton/Journal-World File Photo

The Douglas County Courthouse and downtown Lawrence are pictured in an aerial photo Saturday, July 13, 2019.

Saying that it spoke to county values, Douglas County leaders have approved adding Juneteenth as a paid holiday for county staff.

As part of its meeting Wednesday, the Douglas County Commission voted unanimously to approve adding Juneteenth as a holiday beginning next year, which will cost the county $40,000 to $50,000. County Commission Chair Shannon Portillo said she appreciated county staff bringing the item forward.

“I do recognize that there is a financial cost to it, but I think that that’s the county spending our money in line with our values,” Portillo said.

Commission Vice Chair Shannon Reid echoed Portillo’s sentiment and saw the additional cost to the county as a worthwhile one.

As the county states in a memo to the commission, Juneteenth is celebrated on June 19 and marks the day when federal troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, in 1865 to take control of the state and ensure that all enslaved people were freed. Congress voted to make Juneteenth a federal holiday in June of this year, and County Administrator Sarah Plinsky said the county had been reviewing the matter as a result.

Plinsky told commissioners that a number of counties and cities in the Kansas City Metropolitan area have added Juneteenth as a paid holiday for their staff, and the county staff recommendation was that the county do so as well. The approximate cost for Douglas County to add the holiday will be $40,000 to $50,000 in the form of overtime and shift differential, according to the memo. Plinsky explained that because Douglas County has 24/7 operations, the cost represents those who would now receive holiday pay for working on that day. She said there was money available in the 2022 budget to cover the cost.

As June 19 falls on a Sunday next year, Plinsky said the holiday would be observed on June 20.