REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL
FROM: AARON AGUIRRE, Director
Parks, After School, Recreation and Community Services Department
BY: aLDI rAMIREZ, Assistant Director
Parks, After School, Recreation and Community Services Department
EDWARD CHINEVERE, Projects Administrator
Parks, After School, Recreation and Community Services Department
SUBJECT
Title
Actions pertaining to Citywide Translation and Interpretation Services on an as-needed/on-demand Basis:
1. Approve an agreement with Deaf and Hard of Hearing Service Center authorizing expenditures not-to-exceed $300,000 over a two-year period for professional American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation services on an as-needed/on-demand basis;
2. Approve an agreement with Focus Language authorizing expenditures not-to-exceed $800,000 over a two-year period for professional translation and interpretation services on an as-needed/on-demand basis;
3. Approve an agreement with Hanna Interpreting Services LLC authorizing expenditures not-to-exceed $800,000 over a two-year period for professional translation and interpretation services on an as-needed/on-demand basis;
4. Approve an agreement with Translating Services, Inc. DBA Lazar Translating & Interpreting authorizing expenditures not-to-exceed $800,000 over a two-year period for professional translation and interpretation services on an as-needed/on-demand basis;
5. Approve an agreement with Voyce, Inc. authorizing expenditures not-to-exceed $500,000 over a two-year period for over-the-phone (OPI) and on-demand video remote interpretation (VRI) on an as-needed/on-demand basis;
6. The City will only compensate Consultants for those services performed under the Agreements;
7. Authorize the PARCS Director or designee to execute agreements approved as to form by the City Attorney; and
8. Authorize the PARCS Director or designee to extend the agreements for a two-year term with an additional value not to exceed the original agreement amount.
Body
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends Council approve the Consultant Services Agreements with the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Service Center, Focus Language International Inc., Hanna Interpreting Services LLC, Translating Services Inc. DBA Lazar Translating & Interpreting, and Voyce, Inc. for translation and interpretation services on an as-needed/on-demand basis and authorize the PARCS Director or designee to execute the Agreements and amendments on behalf of the City of Fresno. Timely approval of these agreements is critical to ensure that translation and interpretation services are available for several time-sensitive initiatives, including the Cultural Arts Plan; Parks Master Plan Amendment; community engagement for PARCS Capital Improvement Planning; West Area Neighborhoods Specific Plan; Tower District Specific Plan Update; Kings Canyon Corridor Transit-Oriented Development Connectivity Study; Multijurisdictional Housing Element; South Central Specific Plan/Environmental Impact Report; Southeast Development Area Specific Plan/Environmental Impact Report; the Central Southeast Area Specific Plan; Local Housing Trust Fund; and community engagement required for U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development Community Planning and Development Programs including Community Development Block Grant, HOME Investment Partnerships, Emergency Solutions Grant, and Housing Opportunities for Persons with HIV/AIDS. Further, the increased demand for spoken and sign-language interpreting has greatly increased the dollars spent on interpreting Citywide, particularly affecting public bodies which previously administered interpretation and translation agreements under informal agreements, with their interpreters now being in high demand by other Departments and divisions, necessitating the need for formal contracts for services across multiple public bodies including commissions such as the Disability Advisory Council, and City Council.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The City has increasingly offered translation and interpretation services to residents, with 2022 expenditures increasing substantially over prior years. The demand for these services, along with the desire to streamline the cost and effort associated with each Department procuring their own services, led the City to issue a Request for Proposals (RFP) to establish a list of as needed/on demand providers of translation and interpretation services. Of the eleven proposals received, five vendors have been recommended for award. The City will enter into a two-year not-to-exceed contract with each vendor. Individual departments will have the ability to use the as-needed/on-demand vendors at their discretion utilizing their Department appropriations.
Timely approval of these agreements is critical to ensure that translation and interpretation services are available for several time-sensitive initiatives, including the Cultural Arts Plan; Parks Master Plan Amendment; community engagement for PARCS Capital Improvement Planning; West Area Neighborhoods Specific Plan; Tower District Specific Plan Update; Kings Canyon Corridor Transit-Oriented Development Connectivity Study; Multijurisdictional Housing Element; South Central Specific Plan/Environmental Impact Report; Southeast Development Area Specific Plan/Environmental Impact Report; the Central Southeast Area Specific Plan; Local Housing Trust Fund; and community engagement required for U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development Community Planning and Development Programs including Community Development Block Grant, HOME Investment Partnerships, Emergency Solutions Grant, and Housing Opportunities for Persons with HIV/AIDS.
BACKGROUND
Fresno is one of the most linguistically diverse cities in the country. As cited in the City’s adopted 2020 Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing Choice, the limited English proficiency (LEP) population makes up approximately one-sixth of Fresno residents. Of these, 12.6% speak Spanish, 2% speak Hmong, and 0.8% speak other Indic languages. These three LEP populations alone comprise a total of over 67,000 residents. This same study shows that 3.7% of residents experience hearing difficulty. An analysis of prior expenditures incurred with known translation and interpretation firms shows that the City expended approximately $300,000 in 2022, representing a nearly 400% increase over the prior year cost of approximately 75,000. The total actual prior-year cost of expenditures on translation and interpretation services is higher than this value given that individual City Departments procure their own services, and many document translations or interpreting services are performed under subcontract to firms conducting community outreach or preparing plans, documents, and other written materials.
The goal of this RFP is to improve residents’ access to City services and provide an equitable opportunity to engage in the civic processes, regardless of their proficiency for spoken or written English. As such, the City proposes to award the five vendors to provide as-needed/on-demand translation and interpretation services. The scope of the RFP was for document translation, sight translation of documents, and consecutive and simultaneous on-site and virtual/remote interpretation.
The PARCS Department issued the request for proposals (RFP) on December 8, 2021, with responses received on January 21, 2022. The RFP was posted on Planet Bids, distributed in the Business Journal, and the Purchasing division sent an email to known regional interpretation and translation companies. Eleven applications were received and reviewed by a panel of representatives from various City Departments including Planning and Development, Personnel Services, FAX, Airports, Public Works, Public Utilities, Finance, and PARCS. Seven applicants were interviewed by a second panel of representatives from 4 Departments consisting of PARCS, FAX, Planning and Development, and Personnel Services. Of the seven interviewed applicants, the panel recommended to award five.
Three of these vendors (Focus, Hanna, and Lazar) will offer translation, on-site or remote interpretation, consecutive interpretation, and/or sight translation; a fourth (Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Service Center) will offer ASL only; and a fifth would provide on-demand phone-based interpretation Citywide, and on-demand video remote interpretation (VRI) via an application which can be accessed through an internet-connected device.
Upon award and execution of the agreements, the PARCS Department will circulate a ‘menu’ of services to City Departments identifying the rates for each company and providing the contract identifier for the City’s accounting system. City Departments will be able to utilize the approved vendors at their discretion subject to Department appropriations. Each Department will initiate an account, referencing the contract number in the Tyler Munis accounting system to ensure that the vendor’s total contract value is not exceeded. This process minimizes the administrative burden to track and monitor contract expenditures while allowing individual Departments to utilize translation and interpretation services without conducting their own procurement processes, ultimately saving significant time and funding. Since individual Departments will utilize their appropriations, no new appropriations are requested as part of this Council item.
Two-year contract terms with the option to extend for an additional two years are recommended to leverage the in-depth procurement process over multiple years as well as to leverage the subject matter expertise and experience firms will develop in partnership with the City’s community engagement processes.
ENVIRONMENTAL FINDINGS
Pursuant to California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines Section 15378, this item is not a project for the purposes of CEQA.
LOCAL PREFERENCE
Of the eleven applicants, one was local. This applicant (Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Service Center) is being recommended among the awards.
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no new net fiscal impact. Expenditures incurred against these agreements will utilize Department appropriations for translation and interpretation services.
Attachments:
Consultant Service Agreement
Translation and Interpretation Proposals