AGENDA DATE: 2/10/2016
TITLE:
Title
Amending Albemarle County’s 2016 Holiday Schedule
BODY
SUBJECT/PROPOSAL/REQUEST: Consideration of Amending the County’s 2016 Holiday Schedule
ITEM TYPE: Regular Action Item
STAFF CONTACT(S): Foley, Davis
PRESENTER (S): Tom Foley
LEGAL REVIEW: Yes
REVIEWED BY: Thomas C. Foley
BACKGROUND: On January 6, 2016, a scheduling conflict was noted by Board members between a regularly scheduled Board meeting and the County’s April 13, 2016 holiday for the observance of Thomas Jefferson’s Birthday. This scheduling conflict led to a discussion among Board members as to whether, due to the significance of Veterans Day as a federal holiday, the County should observe Veterans Day (November 11) as a holiday in place of another scheduled holiday such as Thomas Jefferson’s Birthday or Lee-Jackson Day. The Board requested that the County Executive return with information regarding amending the County’s 2016 holiday schedule.
DISCUSSION: The Board expressed interest in considering an amendment to the County’s 2016 holiday schedule to resolve the scheduling conflict between a Board meeting and Jefferson’s Birthday. Staff is providing the following background on the observance of Jefferson’s Birthday and Lee-Jackson Day in Albemarle County and presenting options for the Board to consider regarding amending the County’s holiday schedule.
History of the Observance of Jefferson’s Birthday and Lee-Jackson Day in Albemarle County
Since 1937, Albemarle County local government offices have closed at least one half day on April 13 to observe Thomas Jefferson’s Birthday. On November, 21, 1945, in a regular meeting, the Board resolved to observe Jefferson’s Birthday and Armistice Day as full day holidays. In 1957, the Board eliminated the Armistice Day holiday and added Lee-Jackson Day and Washington’s Birthday as holidays. The Washington’s Birthday holiday is now known as President’s Day. Thomas Jefferson’s Birthday remains a holiday for both the County and the City of Charlottesville. The County and the City are the only two localities in Virginia that observe Jefferson’s Birthday as a holiday. The City eliminated its Lee-Jackson Day holiday and replaced it with a Veterans Day holiday in 2016.
Both Jefferson’s Birthday and Lee-Jackson Day have significance to local residents, so it is likely that a replacement of either holiday will generate some controversy. Of the counties surrounding Albemarle (Nelson, Fluvanna, Buckingham, Louisa, Greene, Orange, and Rockingham), Greene County is the only county that does not observe Lee-Jackson Day. However, all of the surrounding counties observe Veterans Day, which is also a state and federal observed holiday.
Options for Resolving the Scheduling Conflict Between the Board’s Meeting Schedule and the Observance of Jefferson’s Birthday
Option A: Retain the current County holiday schedule and do not reschedule the April 13, 2016 Board meeting.
If the Board meeting is held on Jefferson’s Birthday, it is anticipated that it would be a light agenda and only a limited number of staff would be impacted. These staff, under the Personnel Policy, would be provided an alternative day off in lieu of the holiday. Because this holiday is not a State or Federal holiday, the holding of the meeting on this day would probably not impact public participation.
Option B: Retain the current County holiday schedule and reschedule the April 13, 2016 Board meeting.
A common practice is that if a Board meeting date falls on a holiday, the Board meeting is held on the following day.
Option C: Amend the County’s holiday schedule
If the Board desires to add an observation of Veterans Day to the holiday schedule without impacting the total number of holidays, staff recommends one of the following two potential options:
1) Amend Personnel Policy P-81 to remove Jefferson’s Birthday (April 13) from and add Veteran’s Day (November 11) to the County holiday schedule by adopting Resolution 1;
2) Amend Personnel Policy P-81 to remove Lee-Jackson Day (the Friday before Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Birthday) from and add Veteran’s Day (November 11) to the County holiday schedule by adopting Resolution 2.
BUDGET IMPACT: There would be no budget impact related to rescheduling the April 13, 2016 Board meeting or to making either proposed change to the holiday schedule.
RECOMMENDATION:
Recommendation
Staff recommends that the Board decide how it would like to resolve the scheduling conflict and/or address the observance of Veteran’s Day.
If the Board decides to hold the Board meeting on Jefferson’s Birthday and keep it as a County holiday (Option A), no action is required.
If the Board decides to reschedule the April 13, 2016 Board meeting, staff recommends that it be rescheduled to April 14, 2016 at 6:00.
If the Board decides to change the County’s holiday schedule, staff recommends that the Board adopt either Resolution 1 or Resolution 2, attached.
ATTACHMENTS:
A - Resolution 1 (to eliminate Thomas Jefferson’s Birthday)
B - Resolution 2 (to eliminate Lee Jackson Day)