Question: Can staff provide an update on the bilingual pay program? (Councilman Aguirre)
Response: On January 10, 2023, City Council voted unanimously to approve $300,000 in contingency funding to establish the Bilingual Pay Program. The intended goals of the BPP, as stated by Council during the January 2023 meeting, were employee retention, attraction, recognition, and promoting cultural competency. The program was launched in February 2024 and was found to supplement vendor services by leveraging internal bilingual staff to support departmental translation and interpretation needs. Through the pilot program, OCCE observed a year-over-year reduction in the Office’s use of third-party vendors.
The program is voluntary and open to employees who pass a standardized proficiency test in any language other than English receive a $0.50/hour stipend.
Program Overview:
| (Program launched February 2024) | FY 2023 | FY 2024 | FY 2025 | FY 2025 |
| Active Bilingual Pay Program Applicants | 11 | 112 | 137 | 166 |
| Proficiency Tests Cost | $2,145 | $4,862 | $1,902 | $1,983 |
| Bilingual Pay Program | $1,290 | $82,733 | $112,255 | $96,484 |
| BPP Annual Requests Fulfilled | 46 | 60 | 26 | |
| BPP Employees Fulfilling Requests | 12 out of 112 employees | 12 out of 137 employees | 15 out of 166 employees | |
| Languages Requested | Spanish, Amharic, Arabic, Pashto, Dari | Spanish, Amharic, Arabic, Pashto, Dari, Farsi, Russian | Spanish, Amharic, Arabic, Pashto, Dari, Chinese | |
| Total FY26 Language Access Spending (BPP and OCCE vendors) | $3,435 | $87,595 | $114,157 | $98,467 |