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Commission presses for improved Spanish translation; forwards recommendation to Gilroy City Council
Summary
The commission endorsed transmitting council correspondence that recommends piloting guaranteed live Spanish translation for meetings after commissioners and community members described persistent problems with Wordly/automated translation and headsets.
The Open Government Commission voted to forward to the city council a recommendation on translation services after commissioners described repeated failures of the existing automated captioning and translation tools.
One commissioner, citing interviews with 17 Latino organizations and observations of meetings in Salinas, San Jose and Watsonville, said the current Wordly automated translations are “not adequate” and sometimes produce incorrect outputs that discourage Spanish-speaking residents from participating. The commissioner suggested starting a modest pilot — for example, guaranteeing two hours of live Spanish translation at selected meetings, expanding if demand requires — and pairing the rollout with district-election outreach to increase attendance.
Commissioners discussed inexpensive near-term fixes that would improve access immediately: providing labeled headsets at the front desk and making a few iPads available at the clerk’s desk so attendees can scan a QR code and follow Wordly at their own pace. Staff noted that the council and/or city administrator will need to consider the budget and may absorb costs if appropriations allow; otherwise the council will need to review the memo as a policy item.
After discussion, Commissioner Macaulay made the motion to approve the draft council correspondence on translation services and transmit the recommendation to the city council; Commissioner Crowley seconded. Roll call votes were affirmative and the motion passed. The commission asked staff to include pilot design details and cost estimates in the packet to the council.
