Ventura will continue providing Spanish interpretation of live meetings and translation of agendas for the City Council after a pilot program.
The City Council voted unanimously on Monday to keep the processes in place. The council contemplated requiring a 72-hour advance notice to request interpretation services but ultimately decided against it.
“We’ve been trying for years to get our Latino speakers, or our Spanish speakers, to be a part of our community and be active,” said Council member Doug Halter. “I really think we’re on to something. I really think that people are starting to really engage.”
In September 2022, the city approved a six-month pilot program to bring interpretation to council meetings. In March, council members extended the program and added Spanish translation of City Council meeting agendas.
On Monday, staff recommended the city make the program permanent but require advance notice from those seeking translation services.
Council member Jeannette Sanchez-Palacios is concerned that if Spanish speakers don’t provide advance notice, they’ll have to use Webex, a service that hosts online meetings. The translation on Webex is not always reliable, she said.
When a meeting is translated through Webex, Spanish speakers who miss it live are not able to watch the archived version in Spanish, she said.
City Clerk Michael MacDonald said he is exploring the option of dubbing the archived videos of meetings in Spanish they can be watched later.
There has been an increase in people accessing the Spanish language agenda, according to the city. Typically, the translation takes about 72 hours after the agenda is posted.
The time is needed because the city uses a third-party translation service. The city could use artificial intelligence to translate the agenda faster and staff will explore that option, according to the agenda.
On average, the cost to provide interpretation services is around $1,000 per meeting. Translation services range from $200 to $1,000 for each agenda depending on which third-party service is used. With an average of 26 meetings per year, the total cost would be around $26,000 per year for interpretation services and $5,200 to $26,000 each year for translation services.
AI could help reduce costs in the future, MacDonald said, and could even help translate the entire staff report, which is not done currently.
Live translation services without prior requests are only done in Ventura and Oxnard, MacDonald said. Speakers at the meeting were in favor of keeping the services.
Maria Davalos said through an interpreter she wanted to see the services become permanent.
“The Hispanic community does a lot for Ventura,” Davalos said. “And they do so much for this city, they should be treated in a dignified manner. If our Hispanic people aren’t here … during this season they work a lot, they work extra hours and that’s the reason why they’re not here.”
Wes Woods II covers West County for the Ventura County Star. Reach him at wesley.woodsii@vcstar.com, 805-437-0262 or @JournoWes.
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