HomeMy WebLinkAboutR-94-0259J-94-394
4/14/94
RESOLUTION NO.
°4- 259
A RESOLUTION DIRECTING THE CITY MANAGER TO
ESTABLISH A TOURIST INFORMATION HOT LINE,
PROVIDING FOR 24-HOUR TELEPHONE SERVICE AND
ASSISTANCE IN PORTUGUESE, ITALIAN, FRENCH,
AND GERMAN AND SUCH OTHER LANGUAGES AS MAY BE
DEEMED APPROPRIATE IN THE FUTURE; ALLOCATING
FUNDS THEREFOR, IN THE AMOUNT OF $270,000,
FROM THE GENERAL FUND BUDGET OF THE MIAMI
POLICE DEPARTMENT.
WHEREAS, the City Commission desires to provide visitor and
tourist services in the form of telephonic assistance available
in their native language;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COMMISSION OF THE CITY
OF MIAMI, FLORIDA:
Section 1. The recitals and findings contained in the
Preamble to this Resolution are hereby adopted by reference
thereto and incorporated herein as if fully set forth in this
Section.
Section 2. The City Manager is hereby directed to establish
a tourist information hot line, providing for 24-hour telephone
service and assistance in Portuguese, Italian, French, and German
and such other languages as may be deemed appropriate in the
future, with funds therefor hereby allocated, in the amount of
CM7 COMUSSION
MEETING OF
APR 1 4 1994
Resolution No.
°4- 259
$270,000, from the General Fund Budget of the Miami Police
Department.
Section 3. This Resolution shall become effective
immediately upon its adoption.
PASSED AND ADOPTED this 14th d"TtPHEN
ATT �/�/% MAYOR
MATTY HIRAI
City Clerk
PREPARED AND APPROVED BY:
;LIE 0. BR
Assistant City Attorney
APPROVED AS TO FORM
AND CORRECTNESS:
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04- 259
-2-
CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA
F INTER -OFFICE MEMORANDUM 1
9
OFFICE
TO : Cesar H. Odio M!1. R '-9 PINAZ 56 March 9, 1994 FILE
City Manager
A/ I A A . A SUBJECT Tourism Industry
Victor H. b@ YArre REFERENCES:
Commissioner
ENCLOSURES:
As we know, from our visit to Europe to help the tourism
industry, there are many things that concern our foreign friends.
One of the major concerns is the fact that foreigners that do not
speak Spanish or English have a difficult time communicating in
our community. Not only for information purposes, but
particularly in an emergency situation. '
As you will recall, I had an idea which I shared with you and
would like to see implemented as soon as possible.
The idea is for the City of Miami to provide a 24 hour telephone
service much like our 911 system wherein any question that a
tourist may have may be- answered and addressed in his own.
language.
The operators would speak various languages particularly German,
French, Italian, etc. Please analyze the cost and funding of
this concept.
I will bring this issue before our commission at the next meeting
on the 24th of March for consideration.
Your assistance -in this matter is greatly appreciated.
P591
94- 259
CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA
INTEROFFICE MEMORANDUM
•
The Honorable Victor H. DeYurre DATE; March 24, 1994
Commissioner
EMWEV . Tourism industry
MOM Cesar H. Odi o REFERENCEs 24 Hour Multilingual
City Manager Phone Service
ENCLOSURES:
The Miami Police Department currently provides translation
services at two levels. The first level is through the 911
emergency phone system and is intended for emergency use only.
The second level is through the two Tourist Information Centers
for "in person" inquiries.
At both levels the AT&T translation service is utilized. This is
accomplished by dialing the AT&T translation service phone number
and then providing the Miami Police Department's billing code
number, The cost of this service is $2.60 a minute.
The AT&T translation service has proven very effective and cost
efficient. This service provides access to skilled translators
in virtually every language. Common languages are accessed in
approximately twenty seconds with less common languages sometimes
taking slightly longer.
The use of the AT&T translation service could prove to be a
useful and cost effective approach for a central tourist
information center.
i hope you find this information useful. If your staff would
like more information regarding the translation service, it can
be obtained by calling the Miami Police Department's AT&T Sales
RanrazAn*.ativm_ mannv Morton. At 1-800-752-6096. Ext. 7124.
3
94- 259
CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA
INTER -OFFICE MEMORANDUM
TO
Victor H . De Yurre DATE : March 28, 1994 FILE
Commissioner
sUEUECT : Tourism Industry
FROM: Cesar H. io REFERENCES;
City Mana err
ENCLOSURES:
Please refer to your memo dated March 9, 1994 regarding the need
to establish a 24-hour service to answer questions and provide
information to our foreign visitors in their own languages. Below
please find a list of some possible options that are currently
available:
1) LIVE ATTENDANT - The City has a 24-hour switchboard located
in the Fire Department's Alarm Office (579-6666). This
position could be manned with a person that speaks
languages such as English, Spanish, German, French, and
Italian fluently on a 24-hour basis. The advantage of using
this option is that it is located in a facility that is
capable of handling emergency calls.
2 ) AUTOMATED INFORMATION SERVICE - An automated service could
be setup as a tourism hotline in which the caller can
access an automated voice, select their language of
preference and then select the automated information
needed. The disadvantage of using this option is that the
caller will not speak to a live person.
3) OUTSIDE PROFESSIONAL SERVICE - The use of outside
professional services that specialize in providing trans-
lation and interpretation services for our foreign visitors
would allow us to address the language problem. This
service can be setup to handle calls from foreigners
visiting Miami who do not speak English or Spanish. The
advantage of this option is that the contracted company
will have the expertise of dealing with foreigners.
I have requested further research on this subject matter to
determine if there are any other possible options. We plan to
continue to work closely with the Tourism Bureau and other agencies
in order to fully address the needs of our visitors.
94- 2