WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW)—On Wednesday, there was a debate over whether Juneteenth should continue to be a paid holiday for county employees. Sedgwick County Commissioners approved it, but not before contention.
The main point of contention here is money.
Outgoing County Commissioner David Dennis says he does not want county employees to have a paid holiday on Juneteenth. Instead, he thinks they should use a vacation or sick day to take a holiday.
Dennis asked how much it would cost to give employees paid leave, considering the county’s new pay raises. The county’s CFO says it costs $190,000 extra for the county to pay employees actually to work on one holiday.
The county’s CFO estimates that on a single holiday, the county will pay employees about $789,000. Dennis says paying to “not have people work” puts an extra burden on property taxes.
“They give us property tax for us to work for those dollars that we receive, and I just cannot for the life of me understand because of all the days we are giving them off why we have to give them an additional day,” said Dennis.