Kest adds Spanish to web site

12/22/2000

The Lucas County treasurer's office has opened a web site that offers information in Spanish for those who use it as their primary language.

Treasurer Ray Kest said the system was developed because he had noticed that a number of older Hispanic people coming to the counter of his office bring relatives who must function as translators. He said Judge Joseph Flores of Lucas County Juvenile Court and the judge's son, Andre, who works in the treasurer's office, helped in translating the information to Spanish. According to Judge Flores, between 10,000 and 15,000 people in Lucas County use Spanish as their primary language. “The younger people speak English,” the judge noted, “but some of the older ones who have been around for years still speak only Spanish or have a limited use of English.”

The site contains information concerning delinquent taxes, properties for sale at sheriff's auctions, and other data pertaining to the treasurer's office. Mr. Kest acknowledged that not everyone has a computer at home, but that access to the Internet is available at branches of the Toledo-Lucas County Public Library.