C. RES – Amend – Board of County Supervisors’ Rules of Procedure – Section F(4): Order of Business, Public Comment Time – Michelle Robl, County Attorney
(Proposal to Encourage Use of English Language or a Translator)
Please do not limit community participation. Many people in our community speak a second language. For them to fully participate they need to speak in their native language. It is not hard to translate or add English subtitles in the live stream or posted video to the county website. When you exclude the lest among us you are guaranteeing that others ( blind or handicapped) become excluded and then it is only becomes a matter of time to have participation tests. Inclusivity please.
We should be offering an interpreter option at sign up for public comment. As in a court preceding, the right of a resident to petition their government should be made accessible to all, even if English is not their primary language.
This is a clear attempt to silence, belittle, and reduce the speaking time of entire portions of PWC. If an interpreter is used, will double time be given? Will they censor the speaker? Will they provide a report of what the speaker originally said? Where will this be shared? Will all speakers be censored equally? What is the precedent for this “English ONLY” rule? Were those places minority majority?
Lastly-are some rights to be considered more important to our elected officials than others?
Please do not limit community participation. Many people in our community speak a second language. For them to fully participate they need to speak in their native language. It is not hard to translate or add English subtitles in the live stream or posted video to the county website. When you exclude the lest among us you are guaranteeing that others ( blind or handicapped) become excluded and then it is only becomes a matter of time to have participation tests. Inclusivity please.
We should be offering an interpreter option at sign up for public comment. As in a court preceding, the right of a resident to petition their government should be made accessible to all, even if English is not their primary language.
This is a clear attempt to silence, belittle, and reduce the speaking time of entire portions of PWC. If an interpreter is used, will double time be given? Will they censor the speaker? Will they provide a report of what the speaker originally said? Where will this be shared? Will all speakers be censored equally? What is the precedent for this “English ONLY” rule? Were those places minority majority?
Lastly-are some rights to be considered more important to our elected officials than others?