Commission presses city to certify Spanish charter translation and expand language access

Commissioners devoted substantial time to language access, focusing on a Spanish translation of Reading’s Home Rule Charter that commissioners said has not been legally certified.

Members reviewed a 2024 city resolution stating the English-language charter is the legally authoritative version and noted that the city previously accepted a Spanish translation (a 2019 submission) and later hired a vendor to produce an updated translation. Commissioners said the paid translation has not yet been certified by the city’s legal staff and remains unofficial.

Several commissioners argued that leaving the Spanish text uncertified limits public engagement. A commissioner pointed to federal language-access guidance (Executive Order 13166 was cited in discussion) and said the city should ensure the charter is accessible to Spanish-speaking residents. Commissioners discussed two possible approaches: (1) obtain legal certification of the existing Spanish translation, or (2) use state translation resources and bilingual legal review to produce a certified text.

The commission also discussed closed-captioning and broadcast accessibility. Commissioners said televised city-council meetings currently lack consistent Spanish closed captioning and proposed rewrites of interview questions to ask officials why language services are not already provided and how the city can improve outreach to non‑English speakers.

Staff reported a Spanish version of the charter had been circulated to commissioners by email within the last two weeks, but several commissioners said they had not seen a printed, bound Spanish edition available to the public. Commissioners asked staff to follow up on vendor certification, to explore using state translation resources and bilingual legal reviewers, and to add links to any bilingual charter text and survey materials on the city website for broader public access.