Downey passes on hiring full-time interpreter

DOWNEY – Downey council members decided Tuesday to hold off on hiring a full-time interpreter for their council meetings, citing a lack of inherent need.

Traditionally, City Clerk Alicia Duarte has stepped in and interpreted for public speakers who wished to address the council but had limited English proficiency. If there is a higher need at a given meeting, the city offers on demand and advanced notice services.

The suggestion to hire a designated interpreter brought forth by Councilwoman Catherine Alvarez, who voiced concerns for Duarte.

“I hate the fact that Alicia has to take all the bullying from people that are speaking, and she cannot translate very well,” said Alvarez.

When asked by Livas about how she felt about her abilities, Duarte expressed mostly confidence.

Livas also suggested that the city has brought in interpreters in anticipation of busy meetings with hot button items, if it was believed that they would be needed.

There were some concerns about the cost of such services, with staff estimating around $900 per meeting, adding up to a yearly estimate of $23,4000.

This would increase if meetings were to go past 9:30 pm, as interpreters would then start charging by every half hour.

Staff members also seemed to indicate that there had not been much need for an interpreter for several years, citing data that reflected one document translation request and nine oral interpreter requests (all for the Nov. 20, 2019 meeting) since 2018.

There was also the matter that there are currently three state legislations – AB’s 301, 703, and 339 – that deal with the matter of interpreters that are in discussion.

Specifically, AB 339 would require all meetings to offer the opportunity to address the legislative body remotely via telephonic or internet-based media and include closed captioning, require an interpreter for any language that is spoken by 5% or more of the agency’s jurisdiction for live translation, and require all written materials to be translated into a language spoken by 5% or more of the agency’s jurisdiction.

Councilman Sean Ashton suggested that there “had to be a simpler way” to provide services without the need to spend thousands more city dollars.

One option, he said, might be to utilize someone already on staff who is bilingual.

“Maybe find someone that’s already hired by the city of Downey, that already has language skills,” said Ashton. “Maybe a part time employee that would like to come in for the council meetings just to help out with that.”

However, Livas pointed out that while it would be cheaper, the city would need to pay that person overtime at that point.

Ultimately, the council decided to table the item pending state legislation, following a motion from Councilman Mario Trujillo.

Council members voted 4-1 with Councilwoman Catherine Alvarez in opposition.