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Storey County adopts language access plan, appoints administrative officer as facilitator
Summary
The board appointed Lisa Massell as language-access facilitator and directed her to adopt and implement a draft Language Access Plan to meet state and federal requirements; staff will track translation requests and submit the plan to the governor’s office on the required schedule.
The Storey County Board appointed Lisa Massell, the county administrative officer, as language-access plan facilitator and directed her to finalize and implement a draft Language Access Plan during a public workshop on Sept. 2.
Massell presented the draft plan, which she said aligns with Nevada Senate Bill 318 (2021), Assembly Bill 266 (2023), Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and Nevada statutes (NRS chapters cited in the draft). The plan proposes tracking translation and interpretation requests using a county Microsoft Forms tool, lists training resources for staff, and notes existing tools the county already provides, such as Google Translate support on the county website (Massell said the site supports 249 languages via Google Translate) and employee access to Microsoft Translator.
Massell told the board the county must submit a language-access plan to the governor’s office for new Americans and that the plan is updated on a biennial schedule; staff acknowledged the county is submitting a draft later than the statutory schedule and will bring updates to the board during the next cycle. The board voted unanimously to direct the facilitator to adopt and implement the plan in accordance with NRS 244.184.
Why it matters The plan formalizes county procedures to provide equitable access to vital documents, public meetings and essential services for people with limited English proficiency. The county will also track language needs so future budgets can include translation and interpretation resources where necessary.
Next steps The facilitator will collect staff and public input, implement the county’s tracking form for language assistance requests, and return to the board as needed; staff noted HR maintains records of employees who speak other languages and will assist when bilingual employees are available.
