Those commenting during Manteca City Council meetings after July 1 will be seen as well as heard.

And — if U.S. Census Bureau’s most recent American Community Survey shows any language is spoken jointly by 20% or more of the city’s population — Manteca may need to provide translation of the agenda on its digital platforms but not the back-up material and reports.

City Clerk Cassandra Candini Tilton on Wednesday indicated Manteca is now in the process of gearing up to implement those — and other— provisions of Senate Bill 707 that modernizes the Ralph M. Brown Act to expand public access to local government.

One requirement is the public needs to be able to attend meetings and comment via a “two-way telephonic” or “two-way audiovisual platform.”

The city is opting to expand its Zoom capabilities so that not only can callers see and hear the City Council meeting but council members and others physically in attendance can see the caller as well.

Public comments during a section at the top of the agenda for that purpose are limited to three minutes for those physically present or on Zoom.

Zoom comments are also allowed during noticed public hearings that are on the council agenda.

The council also is required at a noticed public meeting — and not on the consent calendar — to adopt a policy on disruptions to telephonic or internet service. The policy must include the following:

*If a disruption prevents public participation, the body shall recess open session for at least one hour and attempt in “good faith” to restore service.

*The body may meet in closed session during the recess. Open session may not reconvene until at least one hour has passed or service is restored, whichever comes first.

*If service is not restored, the body may resume only after adopting, by roll call vote, a finding that good faith efforts were made and that continuing the meeting outweighs the public’s interest in remote access.

The city currently has two internet providers — Comcast and Astound. In case the Comcast fiber service goes down, Astound serves as the redundant provider.

Manteca — as well as ither cities and impacted jurisdictions such as the San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors — are also mandated to “reasonably assist” members of the public who wish to translate a public meeting into any language or wish to receive an interpretation provided by another member of the public, so long as it does not disrupt the meeting.

Assistance may include any of the following, as determined by the eligible legislative body:

*Arranging space for one or more interpreters at the meeting location.

*Allowing extra time during the meeting for interpretation to occur.

*Ensuring participants may utilize their personal equipment or reasonably access facilities for participants to access commercially available interpretation services.

*Jurisdictions to provide interpretation services itself. Nor is the eligible legislative body responsible for the content or accuracy of any interpretation facilitated, assisted with, or provided.

Agenda related items

The updated rules for the agenda for each meeting require it be translated into all “applicable languages.”

The city’s internet webpage also must be translated into all applicable languages. Each translation needs to be accessible through a prominent direct link posted on the primary home page.

A translation made using a digital translation service can satisfy the requirements. The bill expressly states that the agenda translation requirement does not apply to the entire agenda packet.
The translation is needed only if 20% or more of the population that speaks another specific language speaks English less than “very well.”

Based on current Census data, Manteca would not be currently required to provide the translation services.

 To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com