City Clerk Begins Translation Program For City Agendas, Providing More Access

San Diego City Clerk Diana Fuentes announced a pilot program to translate city council agendas into more languages as part of an effort to make city government more accessible to more people Friday.

The program will start by translating summary agenda documents — which provide a short summation of what items of business will be discussed and in what order — into Spanish, Tagalog, Japanese, Arabic, Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, and Laotian.

“I am committed to ensuring that all members of our community have the opportunity to engage with their City Council,” Fuentes said. “By providing these translations, we hope to make our meetings more inclusive and accessible for all.”

The first summary agendas are online for next week’s city council meetings. The city clerk’s office notes that these translated summaries do not serve as legal notices.

“We recognize that clear communication is vital for effective civic engagement,” Fuentes said. “This new resource will help bridge language barriers and provide our residents with the information they need to participate fully in local government.”

Bilingual staff in the office and professional translation services worked to make the summaries clear and concise. Additionally, each agenda now has a glossary of terms used in the summaries to make them easier to understand.