Council approves bilingual assignment pay for police, firefighters and dispatchers

Lockhart City Council adopted an ordinance May 20 authorizing bilingual assignment pay for police officers, firefighters and first‑responder dispatchers. The ordinance intends to recognize and compensate first responders who demonstrate certified language proficiency and who use those language skills on duty.

Key provisions - Pay rate: $0.75 per hour bilingual assignment pay (council and staff characterized that as roughly $130 per month for full‑time personnel). - Eligibility: Applies to civil‑service police officers and firefighters (including probationary personnel) and will also be available to non‑civil‑service first responders who regularly interact with the public, specifically dispatchers. Personnel must demonstrate language proficiency via a standardized exam from an approved vendor and must be available to use their language skills while on duty. - Languages: The police chief said language determinations will be made by the chiefs based on community need; Spanish will be included by default. - Administration: Department heads and HR will administer pay and testing; periodic retesting may be required.

Council discussion and related items Council members supported expanding language pay citywide for non‑civil‑service employees in future budget cycles; staff said such expansion is being considered as part of next year's budget work. Members also discussed existing certification pay tied to state peace‑officer certification and clarified that bilingual pay would be additional to any certification pay already provided.

Implementation The chief said eligible employees would be tested through an approved vendor and that language skills must be used on duty to qualify for pay. The ordinance was adopted on the record and will be effective starting June 1.