City of Morgan Hill: Making Public Meetings More Accessible Across Languages

The City of Morgan Hill serves a community of about 46,000 people. As the city has grown, so has the need to ensure residents can engage clearly with local government. For Michelle Bigelow, City Clerk and Public Information Officer, that means looking closely at how residents participate in council and commission meetings and where language barriers may prevent them from doing so.

Morgan Hill serves a significant Spanish-speaking population, with about 30% of residents speaking Spanish. The city also serves residents who speak Vietnamese, Tagalog, Chinese and other languages. For the City Clerk’s Office, which supports the legislative process and serves as the front door to local government, language access is closely tied to meaningful public participation.

Making Government Easier To Follow

Bigelow said council and commission meetings can be difficult for any resident to follow, especially for someone attending for the first time. The meetings are often filled with jargon, complex terms and detailed discussions that can make participation feel intimidating. This made accessibility a clear priority for the city.

“When residents are participating in local government… it’s because they either have a concern to share or they’re trying to learn about something that might impact them. We really wanted to try to make it accessible, clear, and easy for them to participate,” Bigelow said.

The city adopted Pocketalk’s one-to-many translation technology, Sentio, to help meet that need. Morgan Hill uses the platform in its council chamber and during livestreamed meetings, giving residents multiple ways to access translations in the language of their choice.

Bringing Language Access Into The Council Chamber And The Living Room

Morgan Hill uses Sentio, a web-based live translation software, in several ways during public meetings. Whether they are in the council chamber or watching from home, residents can access live translations and transcriptions on their own devices by scanning a QR code shared during the livestream. One of the city’s three projectors in the chamber is also dedicated to displaying the translation feed, with Spanish selected as the default display language because it is the city’s most common second language.

The city also purchased tablets and disposable headphones so residents can borrow a device if they do not have a smartphone or if their own device has limited bandwidth. That setup allows participants to either read or listen along during the meeting. Bigelow said this flexibility has made the tool practical both inside City Hall and for residents joining remotely.

A Practical Step Forward

Before adopting the platform, Morgan Hill did not have a consistent language access tool for meetings. Live interpreters could be brought in, but that service was not always in place. Bigelow said having translation technology like Sentio available at every meeting has been a significant improvement.

“We didn’t have something consistent before,” she said. “And so this has really been a step up for us, and the fact that we can have this all the time, instead of only as requested, is really quite a gift to the community.”

The city had previously explored other options, but Bigelow said they were difficult to justify financially. Sentio stood out because it allowed the city to move forward with language access technology that was cost-effective.

Expanding Access Beyond Public Meetings

In addition to adopting Sentio, Bigelow also brought Pocketalk’s handheld translation devices into other parts of city operations after learning about Pocketalk through the city’s police department. The city now has five devices at the police department, two at its recreation centers and two at City Hall.

That broader rollout has allowed the city to improve communication in a range of everyday settings, from utility billing counters to recreation and aquatic center registration. Bigelow said the devices help residents communicate more effectively when signing up for services and reduce the need for children to translate for adults.

“We have some at our recreation centers, and so as parents come in to put their kids in swim lessons or other activities, they don’t have to rely on their child to do the translation,” she said. “That’s a big ask of kids.”

By combining Sentio with handheld Pocketalk devices, the city has been able to build a more flexible approach to language access across multiple departments.

Early Response And What Comes Next

Sentio is still new in Morgan Hill, and Bigelow said the city is in the early stages of building awareness. So far, the city has used the platform at seven City Council meetings and five Planning Commission meetings, with meetings averaging about three hours each. While only a small number of residents have used it so far, those who have tried it in languages including Hindi, Spanish and Chinese have responded enthusiastically.

For Bigelow, the next step is helping more residents understand that the service exists. She sees that as essential to building trust and encouraging broader participation in city government. At the same time, she sees strong potential for future use in workshops, town halls, community conversations and tabling events.

“At the end of the day, our goal is simple,” Bigelow said. “We want residents to walk into Morgan Hill Public Meetings or our agency, and they should be able to follow what we’re doing, and communicate with us. Sentio helps us move closer to that standard in a practical and sustainable way.