At Wednesday's Sedgwick County Commission meeting, the board discussed the county's 2023 holiday schedule.
The county currently has 10 paid holidays. The discussion revolved around adding Juneteenth to the list, either as an 11th paid day or substituting it for one of the other holidays.
In a survey of 1,379 county employees, nearly 83% were in favor of recognizing Juneteenth but over half (57.72%) wanted to simply add it to the schedule, not substitute it over another currently recognized day.
Commissioner Sarah Lopez said the county faces serious budget challenges next year but it's important that they find ways to make the organization more appealing to the workforce.
County officials said adding an 11th day to the schedule would cost them over $828 thousand. With growing deficits forecast in the budget in the next couple of years, the board voted 5-0 to substitute Juneteenth for Presidents Day.
The commission on Wednesday also authorized the sale of $2.68 million in general obligation bonds. The sale will take place on December 6, with the formal award at the commission meeting the next day.
The funds would pay for the special assessments on street paving projects in two developments and 4 bridge projects that were completed earlier this year.
The interest on this new debt will be approximately 4% and will be paid off in 15-20 years.