PINEVILLE CITY ORDINANCE
Council considers English requirement

Apr. 10, 2008

PINEVILLE --Council members want to require at least one worker on every utility crew coming into town to be fluent in English.

It's the most recent of several attempts in the state and across the region to add an English-speaking stipulation into a law.

Pineville Councilman Les Gladden suggested the addition to a proposed ordinance --which would require a permit to work along public streets -- Tuesday night. The council plans to revisit the proposal next month after they get an attorney's opinion.

Gladden cited his own recent experience of not being able to talk with workers on his property because they all spoke Spanish, he said. He was frustrated and the workers were frustrated because they couldn't understand each other, he said.

"That was ridiculous to have to go through," Gladden said. "English is the official language of this country, so I don't see why we can't do that."

Though some policymakers have advocated making English the official language of the U.S., currently the country does not have an official language.

Angeles Ortega-Moore, director of Charlotte's Latin American Coalition, said she can see the value of the stipulation if it's being done under the premise of work site safety. But she said the measure will likely be unnecessary for large companies who already send at least one English speaker on each work crew.

She questions, though, how the town will enforce the rule if it is added to the ordinance. It's hard to define what being fluent in a language means, she said. A lack of patience can often lead to communication trouble, Ortega-Moore said.

"I think sometimes we tend to sort of want to make sure that people speak perfect English and that's a different expectation," she said. "A lot of times people try to communicate and people don't have the patience to try to understand."

The Pineville proposed ordinance would force any public or private company installing utility lines, such as cable or sewer, to get a written work permit before infringing on the town's right-of-way. The ordinance also applies to paving and excavating, planting or removing landscaping and installing or removing signs.

Last year, Cabarrus County commissioners passed an ordinance making English the official language of the county. And Beaufort County, about 125 miles east of Raleigh, now requires that all signs and informational material in all offices and property must be printed only in English.

In 2006, Mint Hill commissioners discussed making English the official language of the town. The proposal never came to a vote.

Councilwoman Brenda McRae said the board decided it wasn't an issue for local government.

"I'm not sure that it would be constitutional," she said.

Mint Hill councilman Lloyd Austin, who introduced the proposal, said he dropped it after an outcry from residents, and after he got a call from an ACLU chapter threatening to sue.

Though Austin said he doesn't have any plans to revisit the issue in Mint Hill, he still thinks it needs to be addressed above the local town level.

"It's just something that really needs to be addressed somewhere," he said.

http://www.charlotte.com/local/story/574346.html