Cheney considers making Juneteenth city holiday

CHENEY – The City Council deliberated on whether to add Juneteenth as a paid holiday during a Jan. 9 meeting.

Juneteenth is a new federal holiday commemorating the end of slavery on June 19.

Juneteenth is a part of a proposed contract for city employees in 2024.

“The estimated cost from adopting Juneteenth is roughly $50,000 for that day,” City Administrator Mark Schuller said.

The proposal sparked council discussion.

“Generally, there’s 11 holidays,” Councilman Paul Schmidt said. “With this holiday added in, the city of Cheney would be at 13 holidays.

“We are losing $50,000 per holiday.”

He a...