AGENDA TITLE:
title
Adopt a Resolution Approving a Side-Letter Agreement with Lodi Police Dispatchers Association to Expand Bilingual Testing to Include Additional Languages (HR)
end
MEETING DATE:
October 2, 2024
PREPARED BY:
Andrew Keys, Assistant City Manager
recommendation
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Adopt a resolution approving a side-letter agreement with Lodi Police Dispatchers Association (LPDA) to expand bilingual testing to include additional languages.
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BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
The Lodi Police Department manages a 911 Dispatch Center where Dispatcher/Jailers respond to emergency calls and dispatch personnel to assist with emergency situations. The Dispatcher/Jailers must communicate clearly with members of the public during highly stressful situations.
The Memorandum of Understanding between the City and LPDA provides for bilingual stipend of $150 a month for employees who are proficient in Spanish. Employees must pass a proficiency examination scheduled through the Human Resources office to be eligible for the stipend. The City currently contracts with Alta Language Services (Alta) to administer the bilingual examinations. Alta provided professional interpretation, translation and language testing (in over 100 languages) to multiple organizations for over 40 years. The City used Alta since February 2018.
The City utilizes Language Line Solutions to provide translation services for communication with members of the public when City staff who are bilingual are not available, or if an employee who speaks the language of the member of the public is unavailable. Utilizing Language Line Solutions to assist with translation requires a three-way conference call between City staff, the caller, and a translator from Language Line Solutions. This process may delay emergency services dispatched by the Dispatcher/Jailer.
For Fiscal Year 2023/24 a total of 869 minutes were spent on the language line for a total cost to the City of $846.15. Calls routed through language line take 13.8 minutes on average compared to about 3.5 minutes for all calls within the department. This additional 10 minutes of conversation and the potential language caps can lead to different emergency response outcomes.
|
Language |
Minutes [1] |
Number of Calls |
Minutes Per Call |
|
Spanish |
641 |
49 |
13.1 |
|
Punjabi |
68 |
4 |
17.0 |
|
Urdu |
95 |
6 |
15.8 |
|
Vietnamese |
35 |
2 |
17.5 |
|
Cantonese |
18 |
1 |
18.0 |
|
Korean |
12 |
1 |
12.0 |
|
Total |
869 |
63 |
13.8 |
[1] Does not include minutes where a bilingual employee was available to speak directly to the caller.
[2] Average call is 3.5 minutes per call.
In an effort to minimize delays in critical emergency services, and to aide in attracting a diverse workforce, the Police Department is interested in expanding the bilingual program to include additional languages that would be beneficial to their operations and to improve the level of customer service provided to the public. The City’s population is diverse and limiting the bilingual stipend to only Spanish limits the ability to converse with residents who call into the Dispatch Center. Having staff who are bilingual in other languages will provide a faster response to emergency services requests by enabling a Dispatcher to communicate with members of the public without having to utilize the translation services. Expanding the bilingual program to include other languages will provide compensation to employees who passed a proficiency examination and recognize the value added to the community for the skills those employees possess.
In addition to public safety response benefits, LPDA is the only bargaining unit within the City for which the bilingual incentive is limited to Spanish. Lodi Professional Firefighters and Fire Mid specify both Spanish and Punjabi as eligible languages for the incentive. In all other cases, the City Manager has the discretion to choose the languages for which bilingual pay will be offered. Expanding this incentive for LPDA to allow for languages other than Spanish to qualify brings parity among employee groups on this pay incentive.
Staff requests that Council approve the side-letter agreement with LPDA to include other languages eligible for the stipend for LPDA members.
STRATEGIC VISION:
7A. Public Safety: Reach and maintain full staffing.
FISCAL IMPACT:
Eligible employees would receive a monthly bilingual stipend of $150. Currently no employees would qualify for the non Spanish bilingual incentive. It is anticipated that by expanding stipend to other languages, that one or two employees may qualify as the department seeks to fill vacant positions. Employees only receive the incentive if the Chief determines it is in the best interest of the department to provide the translation services for the language and the employee passes a proficiency exam in that language. Each additional employee receiving the incentive costs the City approximately $1,800 annually. Costs for two additional employees to receive the incentive can be funded in the adopted Fiscal Year 2024/25 budget.
FUNDING AVAILABLE:
10031004.71009
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Scott R. Carney
City Manager