Nicholson, Martinez Proposal to Advance Multilingual Accessibility for County Meetings Unanimously Recommended for Adoption
MILWAUKEE – Today the Finance Committee unanimously recommended for adoption a budget amendment from Chairwoman Marcelia Nicholson and Supervisor Juan Miguel Martinez to offer translation services—including multilingual captioning, meeting notices, and agendas—for County Board and committee meetings.
“Milwaukee County’s greatest strength is our diversity and that is why representation matters,” said Chairwoman Nicholson, the 1st Afro-Latina elected to Chair the County Board. “The people of our county speak many languages and it is important for us to make sure our proceedings are as accessible as possible. This amendment is a win for equity, public engagement, and transparency.”
“This amendment is a great step toward inclusivity in Milwaukee,” said Supervisor Martinez. “The county strives to be the healthiest county by achieving racial equity and this makes sure we are doing everything we can. We are now able to include options for folks to be able to understand what is being said in our meetings and with that, we make sure everyone can participate.”
The amendment directs the county’s Information Management Services Division to include these translation services in its ongoing Milwaukee County Digital Transformation Initiative.
This initiative was adopted by the County Board in February and allocated $500,000 in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to establish a digital transformation project and $10 million in ARPA funds to execute that project.
NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. It has not been verified for its accuracy or completeness.
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