Monday, May 13, 2024

Trenton’s translation ordinance meets obstacles on first introduction - The Trentonian - Translation

An ordinance being proposed to support the translation of important City of Trenton documents from English to Spanish stalled last week as members of City Council lacked collaboration.

Law Director Wes Bridges and Business Administrator Adam Cruz said city council members delivered a proposal prematurely.

“This really provides a good example of (the importance of) city council and the administration working collaboratively. It’s imperative that when city council makes these proposals that they speak with the administration,” Cruz advised.

“You could have a great idea, and, this is a great idea. But we have to budget for this, make sure we have the resources for this.” Cruz expressed a need for definitive dollar amounts and specifics for city documents being presented for translation.

At-large Councilwoman Yazminelly Gonzalez sponsored the legislation. She sounded perturbed by questions being asked by several colleagues.

“I sent an email to every member of city council, asking for ideas and suggestions before the rollout. I didn’t get a response from anyone. I didn’t know if anyone had any ideas in regard to this (ordinance) or not,” Gonzalez explained.

Bridges echoed the Cruz assessment of city council needing to deliver concise legislation before those items make their way onto the docket.

“While we have a great working relationship with city council, this is again an example why it’s imperative when you’re coming and planning these before your governing body for a vote, if it’s something that’s going to require budget (action), something that the administration must put forward, we’re obviously always supportive of council to put these things forward — it’s imperative we work in tandem” to advance initiatives,” Bridges said.

He added that both parties should act “conjunctively and not just unilaterally, so we know there’s a concrete plan in place to make sure (proposals) happen but also to assure there’s funding available.”
Bridges said a continued working relationship between city council and the administration requires conversations before items reach docket stage.

City Council expects to reintroduce the legislation shortly. The translation ordinance eventually will extend to other languages.

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