Juneteenth—a celebration of the emancipation of slaves first made at the end of the Civil War—was made a county holiday Tuesday by the Cobb Board of Commissioners.
That date will be marked on Monday, June 20, 2022, the day after Juneteenth, which became a federal holiday this year.
But the vote wasn’t unanimous, as Commissioner Keli Gambrill of North Cobb opposed the measure.
Saying while she has nothing against the commemoration, she said that “it’s also a cost to the taxpayers. . . . It’s almost being done as a way to retain county employees.”
The cost for giving county employees the day off will come to around $300,000.
Cobb Commission Chairwoman Lisa Cupid said officially observing Juneteenth is “an opportunity to recognize the freedoms that we all have that were not contemplated in our original Constitution.”
Not to make Juneteenth a county holiday, she added, “would send a dispiriting message to people who had a nuanced road to freedom.”
The Cobb NAACP has been organizing Juneteenth celebrations at the Marietta Square for a number of years.
Gambrill said that this will be 12th official county holiday, and cited a report saying that the typical private sector holidays in the county are only a little more than seven.
Also on Tuesday, commissioners approved spending $105,000 in county reserves for additional overtime for the 2021 World Series games at Truist Park, and for a celebratory parade and event at the stadium for the Atlanta Braves. That vote was 5-0.
That funding is in addition to $350,000 commissioners approved before the games. After the vote, Commissioner JoAnn Birrell of East Cobb asked Cobb Finance Director William Volckmann about the economic impact estimates of the World Series.
He said a report is forthcoming in the first quarter of 2022 by the Cobb Chamber of Commerce and the Cobb Travel and Tourism agency.
Commissioners also recognized several retiring county department heads, including Cobb Police Chief Tim Cox.
He’s been a 30-year veteran of the department, including a stint as commander of Precinct 4 in East Cobb, and has been police chief since 2019.
The commissioners will meet next Tuesday for their final zoning hearing of the year; a second regular business meeting slated for next week has been cancelled.
Related posts:
- Cobb to develop proposal for possible stormwater fee
- Cobb holds groundbreaking for NE Cobb police precinct
- Cobb libraries drop mask mandate, temperature screenings
- Editor’s Note: Recalling the Braves stadium deal
- Cobb Police officers awarded Medal of Valor from Cobb Chamber
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