06/07/2010 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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L(712., w Sessta",- English as Lino Lakes Official Language As Council Members we are charged with guiding the city with regards to present and future issues. The reason to discuss this now is to put in place a method for the city to function before an individual or group demands we embark on a costly road. This topic was raised at the beginning of the year when looking for ideas to control the cost of government. mainly: cost avoidance and eaualitv. Regarding cost avoidance; • The cost to convert our phone system into one with choices for language preferences and related upkeep of translation charges • The cost of lawsuits should the city hire an interpreter and there is an error in tranclatinn • The cost of translating every ordinance, etc into several different languages and the ongoing maintenance of every new ordinance into those languages. • The cost of multi - lingual signage throughout the city. • The cost of printing forms and applications in different languages. • The cost to maintain the City's website in multi - languages. Regarding equality: • Once the city makes an exception from English, it would be unequal treatment to only include one additional language. Which languages, Polish, Russian, Spanish, Somalia. or the several languages of Southeast Asia? A recent state document offered over a dozen language choices. • Fair and equal treatment is assured with one language. • We should encourage the learning of English so that persons do not have to rely nn ntherc to handle trancartinnc fnr them • Assuming minority groups require language translation and interpretation is wrong and a demeaning stereotypical response. Placing a rule in place now allows the City to respond swiftly and correctly should this iccne arks in the f ttnre If an individual or group views this as an unfriendly practice, frankly, how unfriendly is it to expect the taxpayers to pick up the cost to communicate in only that individual's or group's language? Dave R Heger