CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – Juneteenth and Tennessee Emancipation Day will both be recognized as paid holidays for city employees following a vote by the City Council on Thursday night.
Council members voted 10-3 to approve the ordinance at their regular meeting, which lasted over five hours.
Voting yes were Richard Garrett (Ward 1), Vondell Richmond (Ward 2), DaJuan Little (Ward 3), Jason Knight (Ward 5), Wanda Smith (Ward 6), Travis Holleman (Ward 7), Wanda Allen (Ward 8), Karen Reynolds (Ward 9), Ashlee Evans (Ward 11) and Trisha Butler (Ward 12).
No votes included council members Wallace Redd (Ward 4), Stacey Streetman (Ward 10) and Mayor Joe Pitts.
Originally, the ordinance sponsored by Allen included only Juneteenth, June 19; however, an amendment offered by Knight added Tennessee Emancipation Day, Aug. 8, as an honorary day recognized by the city.
Smith then proposed an amendment to Knight’s amendment, making Aug. 8 a paid city holiday as well.
Redd, who spoke in support of the ordinance at last week’s executive session, said he changed his mind based on the amendment to add Aug. 8, which he said would be too costly for Clarksville taxpayers in the aftermath of COVID-19 related closures.
“Many of our citizens lost their income. Many lost their jobs,” Redd said at Thursday’s meeting. “That’s primarily not the case for the citizens that work for government. … During the shutdown, they still got to go to work.”
The price tag for adding the paid holidays for city employees is $169,000 per day, so $338,000 total per year, according to a city Finance Department estimate.
This was the first reading of the ordinance. The second vote is expected Thursday, March 4, at 7 p.m.