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Council asked to weigh ‘all or none’ holiday recognitions and proclamation practice; DEI Commission list in hand
Summary
City staff reviewed the DEI Commission’s list of proclamations and recognition days and told the council that proclamations are approved by the mayor after application; councilmembers debated an "all or none" approach to federal holidays and asked staff to gather community feedback before returning with a recommendation.
At the April 17 study session, Nicole Klaus reviewed the city’s current process for proclamations and recognition days and the DEI Commission’s 2023 list that the council had approved for social media posts.
Klaus said the DEI Commission drafts proclamations and recognition posts; staff review them for social media before posting, and the mayor approves proclamations. She said there is no formal policy for recognizing federal holidays beyond a standard public notice when city facilities are closed.
Klaus told the council she compiled a list of federal holidays in the packet and noted two federal observances — Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Juneteenth — already appear on the DEI Commission’s approved list. Klaus said cities vary widely in practice: some avoid recognizing holidays to prevent exclusion, some post only closures, some post proclamations only when programming is associated, and some follow past precedent for long‑standing recognitions.
One councilmember said the city should adopt an "all or none" policy for federal holidays to ensure consistency. Another councilmember said the council should solicit public feedback on proclamations before making policy changes. Staff said proclamations submitted by residents, organizations or agencies (for example, Bike Month or Historic Preservation Month) were previously posted in the city’s news feed along with DEI Commission proclamations.
Why this matters: proclamations and holiday recognitions are visible public statements that can affect community perceptions. Council members asked staff to return with options and to solicit community input.
What happens next: staff will schedule the topic for a future agenda, collect community feedback and provide options on whether to adopt a formal proclamations/holiday recognition policy and whether to apply an "all or none" approach to federal holidays.
