Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Accessibility Services topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Nebraska Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing asks appropriators to restore interpreter coordinator and cover interpreting shortfall
Summary
Kyle Meers, newly selected executive director, asked the Appropriations Committee to reinstate a previously eliminated interpreter coordinator position (about $73,000) and to reallocate funds to cover contracted interpreting services after the agency exceeded its budgeted amount.
Kyle Meers, executive director of the Nebraska Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, told the Legislature’s Appropriations Committee that he is seeking to reinstate an interpreter coordinator position that was eliminated after a vacancy and a state hiring freeze.
Meers said the commission had $73,000 in funding for that position before it was removed under a governor's hiring mandate and that the agency contracted about $167,000 for interpreting services in the last year while budgeting only $25,000. "I'm swimming in some deep water," Meers said, noting he started in the role about three weeks earlier.
The commission, founded in 1979 and expanded to include mental health services in 1995, provides statewide outreach, interpreter training and an array of assistive-equipment programs, Meers told senators. He reported regional outreach activity in 2024 that included 723 outreach events, 23,752 contacts and 2,546 clients assisted; he also cited roughly 7,025 presentation hours for the year.
Jacqueline Novak, the commission's business manager, was present to answer fiscal questions, Meers said. He also described one recent retirement in a field representative post and said staff duties may be realigned so remaining field representatives cover that service territory. Meers asked the committee to allow the commission to redistribute funds to cover increased contract interpreting and to reinstate the interpreter coordinator line.
Meers said he plans town halls in 2025 to consult the deaf, hard of hearing and deaf-blind communities, sign-language interpreters, providers and other stakeholders about service delivery and possible new programs.
Senator Kavanaugh asked whether Meers is from Nebraska; Meers said he grew up in Nebraska and returned after many years living abroad. The committee concluded its questions after a short exchange and thanked Meers for his testimony.
The commission's request to reinstate the coordinator and realign funds is a budget-level ask; no formal vote or committee action was recorded at the hearing.
