Linn County job opening to come with bilingual preference

CEDAR RAPIDS - Linn County and its 757-person work force is set to get a first - a job opening in which the preference is to hire a bilingual person fluent in English and Spanish.

Auditor Joel Miller is pushing the pioneering step as he gets ready to fill the post of full-time election clerk in his office.

In fact, Miller is in the process of hiring a temporary person fluent in English and Spanish for the job while the more formal Linn County process of hiring a full-time county employee runs its course.

Linn County Supervisors Lu Barron and Linda Langston said Monday they liked Miller's suggestion.

'It's time to walk the talk and get someone in there who can speak the language that is predominant among the largest minority (of non-English speakers) in the county,” he said.

The U.S. Census Bureau puts the Hispanic population in Linn County at about 3 percent, but Miller said recent local estimate put the figure at 4 percent.

Lisa Powell, the county's human resources director, said Linn County government does not have any positions with a bilingual preference. The same is true in Cedar Rapids city government, said Conni Huber, the city's human resources director.

Powell said she did not object to a bilingual preference as long as it is not a requirement for a job. She is working with Miller on a job description that includes preference, not requirement, she said.

Miller said he is more sensitive than some to non-English speakers because his wife, who is from Ecuador, is bilingual and frequently helps other Hispanics when English is a problem for them.

Miller, who as county auditor also is the county's commissioner of elections, said he worries that Hispanics without a good command of English forego participating in elections because of the language barrier.

'What is the first thing we tell them to do when they arrive in the United States?” Miller said of immigrants who become American citizens. '‘We want you to vote.'

'So we want to get them in here. That was my vision when since I took office. I want more people engaged in local government.”

Miller said he would make a bilingual election clerk available to other departments in the county's administration building to help Hispanics who have questions about taxes or are there to pick up license plates for their vehicles.

'I eat at Mexican restaurants all the time,” Miller said. 'I know the employees can take my order, but I bet there can be a lot of confusion when they come to the county to get their license plates.”

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