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| COUNCIL ACTION |
| Motion by Councilmember Marks with a second by Councilmember Brown-Patrick to approve as presented. Motion passes 7-0. |
| AGENDA ITEM: |
| Consider authorizing the City Manager to add Veterans Day and Juneteenth as recognized City of DeSoto holidays |
| BACKGROUND: |
The City of DeSoto currently recognizes 11 official holidays for City employees. In 2021, City staff began reviewing the number of official holidays offered to DeSoto employees compared to other municipal employers in Texas. In reviewing other city governments, staff identified two holidays with particular importance to the City of DeSoto that are routinely recognized by many other Texas cities, but are not currently recognized in DeSoto. Those two holidays are Veterans Day and Juneteenth.
Police, fire, and dispatch shift workers only schedule holidays based upon schedules and days off, oftentimes included alongside vacation or sick days. Non-shift employees in those departments observe holidays consistent with other civilian positions in all other departments. The City's currently recognized holidays are identified below.
| Holiday Title |
Observance |
| New Year's Day |
January 1 |
| Martin Luther King Day |
Third Monday in January |
| Good Friday |
Friday before Easter |
| Memorial Day |
Last Monday in May |
| Independence Day |
July 4 |
| Labor Day |
First Monday in September |
| Thanksgiving |
Fourth Thursday in November |
| Day after Thanksgiving |
Fourth Friday in November |
| Christmas Eve or Day After |
December 24 or December 26 |
| Christmas Day |
December 25 |
| Personal Day |
Any working calendar year day, with supervisor approval |
|
| FINDINGS: |
A survey was recently completed for 110 Texas cities regarding the number and types of observed holidays. The results are indicated below. 47.3% of responding cities are at or below 11 observed holidays. 52.7% of responding cities are at or above 12 holidays.
7.3% 9 holidays
15.5% 10 holidays
24.5% 11 holidays
24.5% 12 holidays
14.5% 13 holidays
10.9% 14 holidays
2.7% 15+ holidays
In additional to the eleven (11) holidays that DeSoto observes, other cities observe the following holidays:
73.6% Additional Personal Day
53.1% President’s Day or Columbus Day
9.9% Juneteenth (53% of cities are currently considering adding Juneteenth as a holiday)
64.0% Veterans Day
21.7% Patriot Day (09/11 and for some cities/used in lieu of Labor Day for Fire personnel) |
| FINANCIAL IMPACT: |
| Employees are compensated, per City policy, for observed holidays. As a result, there is no increase in financial costs to the City as a result of increasing the number of holidays as individual employee pay does not change. This policy will be perceived by employees as an increased benefit and can be used as a recruitment and retention tool. |
| RECOMMENDATION: |
| Staff recommends that the City Council authorize the City Manager to add Veterans Day and Juneteenth as recognized City of DeSoto holidays. |
| MANAGEMENT REVIEW |
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