READING, Pa. – Reading City Council heard comments from three residents Monday night asking for council meetings to have a translation service available to allow Spanish-speaking residents to understand what is happening in the city.
Raquel Capellan, a city resident and a commissioner on the Governor's Advisory Commission for Latino Affairs, said she is a community leader who "loves Reading so deeply that sometimes it hurts."
"It hurts when I see people struggling," Capellan said. "When I see a beautiful city such as ours sometimes rob itself of its own power and unique physique."
Capellan said she would like to see council implement a creative way that council could include translation and some kind of interpretation services during council meetings.
"I do feel that having some kind of language access and equity in terms of that should be very high priority to make sure that our Spanish speakers and that the populations that reside and live within Reading are heard and understood, and are able to understand and know that they can also to come here and speak, and that their language would also be able to be understood as well," she said.
In response to the comment, Councilmember Jaime Baez Jr. said he had a conversation with the city solicitor on getting the city charter translated into Spanish.
Fifth Street resident Ruby Mora said City Council remains inaccessible to the majority of its constituents due to the lack of translation services during city meetings.
"After many decades and many technological advancements, the city continues to refuse to invest in breaking down this language barrier, and I can't help but question why," Mora said.
"Google Translate is not reliable, but unbiased translator or interpreter is," Mora said. "It was mentioned at a recent community meeting that the city is the most financially stable third-class city in the commonwealth. If this is the case, there shouldn't be a second thought about this."
"Invest in your people before they look for someone else to invest their vote into when you're up for reelection," Mora concluded.
Councilmember Vanessa Campos said she wants the constituents to know that they are being heard.
"We understand the need for the translation, and we will actively work on addressing that need so that our community stays informed in the language that they understand," Campos said. "I think council hears the need, and we will work on that."
