pages: OpenGovernmentCommission/2021-07-19.pdf, 18
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OpenGovernmentCommission | 2021-07-19 | 18 | In response to Commissioner LoPilato's inquiry, the City Clerk explained that with the technology, staff is completely bypassing the Chambers equipment and the Zoom meetings are not integrated with the equipment; it is not to say it cannot be done, but she and her staff have been trying to troubleshoot and think of ways to do it; converting the system back to being live is complex; her office wants to wait until Council is dark in August to start running tests and see how the technology could work; there is definitely some momentum with the issue; regarding the resolution, the OGC has never adopted one before and it may not be the right mechanism; suggested turning the resolution into a letter to the Council similar to the last item, as a motion would accomplish the same goal. Chair Tilos concurred with the City Clerk; stated the proper channel would be to write a letter to the Council. Vice Chair Shabazz stated it would be great if Chair Tilos would be willing to convert the resolution language into a letter to the Council and move it forward. Chair Tilos stated he would be able to do so. Vice Chair Shabazz stated that he authored the resolution, which includes two different suggestions; one is about continuing remote participation; the second is a piece related to making meetings accessible to the most common non-English language; Chair Tilos' letter could include one or the other or both. The City Clerk stated the Sunshine Ordinance has a section about capping translation service at $20,000 per year. In response to Chair Tilos' inquiry, the City Clerk outlined Section 2-91.13e stated the main translation service used currently is sign language. In response to Chair Tilos' inquiry, the City Clerk stated the translation expenses have never come close to the cap; she wanted the Commission to be aware since it is being discussed. Commissioner Chen stated the existing law does not expire until December 2023 so there is time to do research; she does not know how many languages are needed; the largest minority group in Alameda is Asian, which divides up into Chinese, Filipino, and Vietnamese; she does not know which of those populations need the greatest language access; the letter could be vague and just state the OGC's desire to increase access to language minorities in the City; there is time to explore how it can be done; money should not be the only reason prohibiting increased access to non-English speaking residents of Alameda. In response to Chair Tilos' inquiry, Commissioner LoPilato stated it can be simplified by adjusting the language to say the OGC recommends the City consider the options; if staff is going to do the research on cost and implementation, the Commission does not need Meeting of the Open Government Commission 18 July 19, 2021 | OpenGovernmentCommission/2021-07-19.pdf |