Language Access Plan

On April 23, 2024, the Apex Town Council unanimously approved its first Language Access Plan, developed in partnership with Fiesta Cristiana. The plan focuses on improving services for non-English-speaking residents, with Spanish and Chinese identified as strategic languages.

Key recommendations from the plan include:

• Staff training
• Collecting and incorporating resident feedback
• Implementation of Recite Me, a translation and accessibility tool for the Town’s website (launched publicly on June 17, 2024)

Apex also partnered with Lead for North Carolina with the UNC School of Government to bring on a college graduate starting August 1 to support implementation efforts.

• The launch of Recite Me toolbar received overwhelmingly positive feedback from both staff and residents, who noted improved ease of accessing and understanding information on the Town’s website in their preferred language.
• On September 24, 2024, the Town held its first-ever Town Council meeting with live Spanish interpretation, marking a significant step toward inclusive civic participation.
• The meeting featured simultaneous interpretation, enabling Spanish-speaking attendees to follow along in real time. 
• It also included consecutive interpretation, allowing residents to share comments directly with Council in their preferred language.

These efforts ensured that community members could fully understand, engage, and contribute to the decision-making process in their native language.

In March, the Town of Apex presented an update to Town Council on the progress of the Language Access Plan implementation. The presentation highlighted:

• The Town’s phased approach to rolling out the plan, ensuring sustainable and strategic integration across departments.

• Notable accomplishments included identifying and translating over a dozen vital documents into Spanish and Chinese to improve access to essential information.

The Town has also continued providing language interpretation support at various community engagement events, helping ensure residents of all language backgrounds can participate meaningfully in civic life.