Opinion

Dear Editor,

DEAR EDITOR:

DEAR EDITOR:

• No. As long as at least one on-duty dispatcher is present. It would be interesting to know how a multi-lingual city such as San Jose handles this. It seems very unlikely that every 911 dispatcher in San Jose speaks English, Spanish, Vietnamese, and Tagalog. • No. Our system has worked for years as is and with no crisis reported due to a language issue. Let it lie and inform the public that we have an activist running for the council who will do all she (Rebeca Armendariz) can to create problems where none exist. • No one who works in a public capacity needs to know another language necessarily, although it truly is helpful, especially in our city of Gilroy, to know Spanish. To require this as part of the job will limit job opportunities for people, and if someone is calling 911, they do know the basics of their need such as their address or place where they need assistance. • Given the demographic of Gilroy in 2010, yes. As long as English is their primary language I think it’s a good idea for Gilroy dispatchers to speak Spanish. • No, but a bilingual operator should be available on every shift. • No. I don’t think all of them should be Spanish speakers. At the very most, enough for one per shift seems adequate. • Yes. It would be nice if everyone moving to the United States learned to speak English, as I would expect to have to learn the native language of any country I moved to; however, that being said, the safety of our residents should be most important. • It depends. How many dispatchers are working at a time? If more than one, then at least one of them should be bilingual. If there is only one person at the helm, they should be fluent in Spanish. I would hate for someone to not get the help they need. We should look at other languages in our community as well. • No.  At least one person per shift should speak fluent Spanish to cover emergency calls from Spanish speaking and limited English speaking callers. • Emergency dispatchers should be fluent in English and Spanish with the first response being in English, but the ability to communicate in Spanish as necessary. That should be a basic requirement and not a skill that requires additional pay. Emergency dispatchers make a fine living already. • No. I think there should be a dedicated line for Spanish speakers only. • No. I do believe there should be one person on each shift required to be fluent, but not all dispatchers.

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Dear Editor:

Dear Editor: