City to pay extra for employees fluent in Spanish and English

As many as 24 bilingual city employees will begin receiving a monthly wage premium in the coming months, following the Henderson City Council's Nov. 21 approval of a measure that rewards employees who are fluent in English and Spanish.

According to a City Council memorandum, the two dozen positions that were added span several departments, and the premium amounts to $80 per month per employee in taxable wages.

The document said the city positions affected include: five municipal court clerks, two police records employees, six police communication employees -- one per shift, two customer service employees in the utility services department, two business license employees, four building and fire safety department permit technicians, two city attorney's office court programs staff members, and one city clerk's office employee.

These were the departments where there was the most demand, Henderson Human Resources Director Daryl A. Moore said before the council meeting.

The deal was negotiated over the past six months with Teamsters Union local 14, which represents many municipal employees.

"There's been a premium in the police contract for the last three and a half years," she said, adding that the premiums are similar, but the police benefit is structured as "a flat, annual amount." Although the measure was negotiated with the Teamsters, Moore said several department heads actually initiated it, with the intent to serve the community better.

"I think it's a way that we can serve our customers better, those that may have difficulty understanding the English language," she said.

Moore said the premium will be offered only to employees who speak Spanish because other employees speak a multitude of languages.

"And they have volunteered to come interpret any time a person from another country has a question," she said.

Spanish-speaking employees similarly filled the void on an as-needed basis until now, the city document said. But under this deal, the city will require employees to be of mid- to high-level fluency in Spanish for the pay premium.

Selected bilingual employees will be required to take a fluency test, with a one-time cost of $114 each, the city document said.

Asked if more positions could be added under this bilingual pay premium in the coming years, Moore said, "I don't really anticipate there'll be a growing need for additional employees at this point." She added that the selected positions are spread evenly.