SUBJECT: Resolution
Title
A Resolution of the Board of Trustees of the Town of Erie Recognizing Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a Town Observed Holiday and Adding a Floating Holiday to the Town's Benefit Package
Body
DEPARTMENT: Administration
PRESENTER: Malcolm Fleming, Town Administrator
SUMMARY AND BACKGROUND OF SUBJECT MATTER:
In 1983 President Reagan signed legislation designating the 3rd Monday of January as a Federal holiday in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Since then, all 50 state governments, most local governments, most large corporations and many private companies have followed suit to designate the day as a paid holiday. However, MLK Day is not currently among the 10 designated holidays observed by the Town of Erie. As Town Administrator, I recommend changing that.
The Town of Erie currently observes the following holidays:
Holiday Date of Observance
New Year's Day First Day of January
President's Day Third Monday of February
Memorial Day Last Monday of May
Independence Day Fourth Day of July
Labor Day First Monday of September
Thanksgiving Day Fourth Thursday of November
Day after Thanksgiving Fourth Friday of November
Christmas Eve Day Twenty-fourth Day of December
Christmas Day Twenty-fifth Day of December
New Year's Eve Day Thirty-first Day of December
For retention and recruiting purposes, the Town must offer a competitive benefits package. Of the 23 local governments in our area (not including Denver), Erie is one of only 4 that don't designate MLK Day as a holiday (Federal Heights, Firestone and Weld County are the other 3). Please see the attached comparison.
Prospective employees look at the holidays offered by employers, and seeing MLK Day missing from the list sends the wrong message. Not designating MLK Day also sends the wrong message to a much larger audience. I'd like to send a message to current and prospective employees, and the larger communi...
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