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Leesburg Diversity Commission defers decision on Bablic website-translation plan ahead of April renewal
Summary
Commission reviewed usage and costs for a one-year Bablic translation subscription, heard staff options to reduce languages or buy extra machine words, and agreed to defer a decision to the April meeting for more demographic data and discussion.
The Leesburg Diversity Commission on March reviewed its one-year subscription to Bablic, the website translation plug-in used on the town site, and agreed to postpone a decision on renewing or adjusting the plan until its April meeting.
Kara (staff liaison and public information officer) told commissioners that the Bablic subscription in place since April 16 translates the town website into up to seven languages and that web analytics show about 1.47% of visitors used the plug-in over the past year. "Our machine words remaining is a whopping 0," Kara said, and she confirmed the plan is set to renew on April 16. She also reported that, beyond Spanish and English, the most-used languages on the site were Chinese, French and Korean.
Why it matters: the subscription affects both web accessibility for non-English speakers and the Diversity Commission's limited annual budget. Kara said the subscription fee is billed monthly at about $66 and noted that the cost of the plug-in is a meaningful portion of the commission's operating funds. Commissioners discussed several options presented by staff: keep the current seven-language plan and buy additional machine-word bundles as needed; reduce the number of languages offered to slow the rate of machine-word use; or cancel the plan prior to renewal. Kara said an extra 100,000 machine words would cost $51 as a one-time purchase.
Commissioners raised two practical concerns: which non-English languages would provide the greatest benefit to Leesburg residents, and how the town's demographic data should guide any change. Commissioner Ed Segura recommended prioritizing Spanish plus two other languages based on local demographics and usage patterns, while Commissioner Linda Ace and others noted that differences between Leesburg and Loudoun County statistics complicate the choice.
No formal vote was taken. Chair Lisa Marie Horvatinovich and staff agreed to bring updated town-language and demographic information to the commission's next meeting so members could choose a language count (between one and seven) or otherwise set renewal instructions. The commission confirmed its next meeting will be April 9 at 7 p.m. at Town Hall.
The discussion also clarified operational details: the Bablic plan originally included 200,000 machine words as part of the first-year setup and the commission has exhausted that allocation; additional machine words may be purchased in blocks (staff said purchases do not recur monthly unless required). Kara advised commissioners the commission's fiscal year runs July 1 to June 30 and that unspent funds go to the town's unassigned fund balance.
