No fiscal impact. This is an informational report only.  
  
Should the Board of Supervisors decide to implement interpreter services in multiple languages and/or agenda translation services in Spanish, per-meeting and annual costs would depend on the number of selected languages and number of service hours, remote or onsite. Potential costs would deviate significantly based upon the scope of service and cannot be accurately estimated until a scope of service is further defined. Costs would likely be borne by the County General Fund.

On March 26, 2019, the Board of Supervisors (BOS) requested that the Internal Operations Committee (IOC) develop a policy on language interpretation services at Board of Supervisors meetings. The IOC considered this matter on September 9, 2019 and decided that the services could not practically be rolled out until staff relocated to the new Administration Building at 1025 Escobar Street in Martinez.  
  
On January 21, 2020 staff presented, at IOC direction, a report to the Board of Supervisors with options for implementing language translation services at BOS meetings upon 72 hours' prior notice once the Board began using its new meeting chambers, estimated to be in June 2020. The Board’s direction in January was for the Clerk of the Board Division to secure its own contract for hiring interpreters, which would enable BOS meetings to feature additional requested services for the public. This roll-out would include adding a language interpretation policy to the County website and working with the Office of Communications and Media on how to communicate the new policy and procedures to the public.   
  
The IOC, composed by Supervisors Andersen and Burgis, had also directed staff to explore the feasibility of providing Board of Supervisors agenda in Spanish as well as English. The translation of written materials from English to Spanish is charged per word. Staff estimated that an English to Spanish translation of a typical 100-item meeting agenda that has approximately 7,800 words would cost $1,482, or about $44,500 annualized. A shorter agenda of roughly 75 items could be closer to 6,000 words (approximately 20 pages) and would cost $1,140.  
  
Efforts to plan and implement language interpretation and translation were stymied by the COVID-19 pandemic. At the beginning of the pandemic, the Board had still been meeting at 651 Pine Street. State and County health orders necessitated converting Board of Supervisors meetings to a virtual model, in which the five Supervisors participate in the meeting from remote locations, minimal staff are in the board room, and the public are allowed to participate remotely through a call-in number. Since relocating to the new County Administration building during the summer of 2020, the Board of Supervisors has continued to meet virtually.  
  
Ensuring effective virtual meetings with public participation was the focus for both Clerk of the Board and DoIT (Department of Information Technology) for the second and third quarters of 2020. These divisions worked collaboratively to convert meetings to an entirely new format, while preserving the ability of the public to participate. As the logistics for managing the BOS meetings were refined, the use of interpretation services for public comment was quickly added. The current process for interpretation services is to have an interpreter in the Board Chambers who provides consecutive interpretation for Spanish-speakers during public comment periods of the meetings. The County currently contracts with Continental Interpreting for interpretation services.  
  
In response to public comment made at the February Internal Operations Committee, direction was given to the Clerk of the Board to report back at the March Internal Operations Committee. Clerk of the Board was asked to:  

• Mandarin
• Cantonese
• Tagalog
• Vietnamese
• Farsi

• All interpreting assignments require a forty-eight (48) hour notice of cancelation or change (excluding weekends and holidays). Full rates apply for late cancelation or change (excluding weekends and holidays). Full rates apply for late cancelation.
• Minimum order value for interpreting is Half Day (up to 2 hours).
• Team of 2 interpreters required for simultaneous interpreting beyond 1 hour.
• All interpreting services are offered either onsite (subject to availability) or remotely (Zoom or Phone).
• If an interpreter can be booked below listed market rate, lower fees may apply but cannot be guaranteed.
• Onsite services to be provided in Contra Costa County.
• .For remote interpreting, we can also offer the use of our remote interpreting platforms (additional fees apply).

• All translations will be delivered via email in PDF and Word, if requested.
• Upon request, we can provide a quote for each project to be approved prior to translation.