HomeMy WebLinkAbout3284 Regarding Holidays and Amending Section 2.20.020 of the Port Townsend Municipal Code Ordinance 3284
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ORDINANCE NO. 3284
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF PORT TOWNSEND, WASHINGTON,
REGARDING HOLIDAYS AND AMENDING SECTION 2.20.020 HOLIDAYS OF THE
PORT TOWNSEND MUNICIPAL CODE
RECITALS:
The City Council of Port Townsend finds as follows:
1, Juneteenth commemorates the emancipation of enslaved persons. It is the
anniversary of General Order No. 3 by General Gordan Granger that was issued
on June 19, 1865 and proclaimed the freedom of the enslaved persons in Texas,
the last state in the Confederacy with institutionalized slavery. (See Gates Jr.,
Henry Louis, "What is Juneteenth?"https://www.pbs.org/wnet/african-
americans-many-rivers-to-cross/history/what-is juneteenth/, Retrieved
December 23, 2021)
2, During the 2021 legislative session, the Washington State legislature approved
Juneteenth as a paid holiday for Washington State employees.
1 On June 17, 2021, President Biden signed Public Law 117-17 that made
Juneteenth the eleventh federal holiday.
4, The Port Townsend Municipal Code 2.20.020 lists the holidays observed by the
City of Port Townsend. Nonemergency City offices are closed on these days.
5. The City Personnel Policy Manual lists Christmas Eve as a paid holiday for staff
provided that it falls on a weekday. The General Government Collective
Bargaining Agreement has Christmas Eve as a paid holiday regardless of the
day of the week. Adding Christmas Eve as a City holiday avoids having part of
the staff working when part of the City staff is not.
6. RCW 1.16.050 lists the Washington state legal holidays. This includes the
Friday following Thanksgiving which is known as Native American Heritage
Day.
NOW, THEREFORE,the City Council of the City of Port Townsends hereby ordains as
follows:
Section 1. Port Townsend Municipal Code 2.20.020 Holidays is amended as set forth below:
2.20.020 Holidays.
The following days shall be observed as city holidays and nonemergency offices shall be closed:
Ordinance 3284
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New Year's Day January 1 st
Martin Luther King Third Monday in
Day January
Presidents' Day Third Monday in
February
Memorial Day Last Monday in May
Juneteenth June 19th
Independence Day July 4th
Labor Day First Monday in
September
Veterans' Day November 11th
Thanksgiving Day Fourth Thursday in
November
Day aftef
T4it+nksgiving
Native American Day after
Llerit.t ,e Da Thanksgiving
Christmas Eve December 24
Christmas Day December 25
Section 2. Direction. The City Manager is directed to modify all City policies, including the City
of Port Townsend Personnel Policies Manual, to incorporate Juneteenth and Christmas Eve as a
paid City holidays as well as renaming the Day after Thanksgiving with the appropriate name of
Native American Heritage Day.
Section . Severability. If any sentence, clause, or phrase of this ordinance should be held to be
invalid or unconstitutional by a court of competent jurisdiction, such invalidity or
unconstitutionality shall not affect the validity or constitutionality of any other section, sentence,
clause or phrase or work of this ordinance.
Section 4. Effective Date. This ordinance shall take effect and be in force five days after the date
of its publication in the manner provided by law. Publication of this ordinance shall be by
summary thereof consisting of the title.
Ordinance 3284
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ADOPTED by the City Council of the City of Port Townsend, Washington, at a regular
meeting thereof, held this 181h day of January 2022.
avid;i". b r
Mayor
Attest: Approved as to form:
Joanna Sanders, MMC Hick i jreejiwoo�.
City Clerk City Attorney