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Oct 6, 2008 9:55 pm US/Central

Lewisville Votes Down English As Official Language

LEWISVILLE (CBS 11 News) ― English will not be the official language of Lewisville.

The city council voted down the English-only proposal Monday night. More than 120 people packed City Hall for the vote.

The crowd was divided on two controversial proposals on the table.

One sought to make English the official language of Lewisville. The other was aimed at banning bilingual city documents, except those required by state and federal low. The council looked at eliminating translations for 20 documents that were considered non-essential to life and health.

Some city leaders said the idea was to make English the common language and save the city money. "Theoretically at least, you could wind up with 100 or 200 [Spanish] documents," said James Kunke with the City of Lewisville. "So rather than let that happen we want to stop now and look at what we're doing and make sure we're happy with the course we're on."

The author of the resolution, city council member Lathan Watts, said there needed to be a policy. "By doing this the staff will have direction from us. The voters will have us on the record."

Hispanics make up 23-percent of the population in the City of Lewisville.

Francisco Franco went to city hall before Monday's meeting to help his Spanish speaking brother pick up a work document that is only printed in English. "Like for me, I can go in there and say whatever I need and get it," he explained. "But if it was in Spanish he could go in by himself and make it easier on him."

After passionate speeches from people on both sides of the issues, both resolutions were defeated.

Two other Texas cities have made English their official language - Farmers Branch and Oak Point.

(© MMVIII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

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