One of Cesar Mendez’s earliest memories is of being 6 years old and serving as a translator for his mom when she had to pay a water bill at Elgin City Hall.
No one who spoke Spanish was available, and she was embarrassed that she needed to rely on her son to accomplish such a menial task, Mendez said.
“It’s a basic thing any functional adult should be able to do on their own,” he said, but it’s hard when you’re not proficient in English.
Mendez shared his story at Wednesday night’s Elgin City Council, applauding the council’s decision to hire a full-time translator to help people navigate city services, a measure that passed with an 8-1 vote.
Councilman Toby Shaw cast the lone no vote, saying he was concerned by all the new positions being added to the city’s 2022 payroll.
Initially there had been discussion about using part of the $2.8 million surplus in the 2022 budget to pay for the new job, but the idea was rejected because it would be a recurring budget cost whereas the surplus will not.
The new post will cost the city about $80,000, including salary and benefits.
Councilman Corey Dixon pushed for the position to be created because the high percentage of Hispanic residents in Elgin makes it “incumbent upon us as their elected officials to step up and put a position like this in place, so we are not overlooking a significant population.”
According to U.S. Census numbers, about 47% of the city’s population is Hispanic.
The city has staff in different departments who speak Spanish, and translating duties have fallen on them even though they’re not being compensated for the additional skill, Councilman Dustin Good said.
Dixon agreed, saying it “has been done as a secondary duty, which is really time-consuming. It takes away from the other things they need to do. Translating is not easy. The need is certainly there.”
City officials also noted that translating technical terms can be challenging.
The issue of hiring a translator has been discussed in the past by the council. Several years ago the city had a bilingual community outreach position but it was eliminated due to budget cuts, officials said.
“I think when we look at diversity, equity and inclusion work, inclusion is key,” Councilwoman Tish Powell said. “If we are really going to be serious about including folks in our community, we need to include everyone in our community, and I don’t know how we do that if we aren’t able to communicate with folks in the language that they understand.”
Councilman Steve Thoren said he initially opposed the idea because it hadn’t been proposed by the city manager’s office and he wasn’t sure he could justify the use of taxpayer dollars for it. But he changed his mind after hearing the points made by fellow council members, he said.
Shaw said his opposition stemmed from the fact that the city was already adding several new positions to the 2022 budget.
“We are seeing a ramp-up in the size of our city government, and I just want to caution and put a check on that,” he said.
Gloria Casas is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.
