9 September 22, 2026
Honorable Mayor and City Council
City of Long Beach
California
RECOMMENDATION:
Recommendation to authorize the City Manager, or designee, to execute all documents necessary to amend Contract Nos. 37209 with Cal Interpreting & Translations, of Van Nuys, CA; 37210 with Effectiff, LLC, of Fort Lauderdale, FL; 37288 with Interpreters Unlimited, Inc., of San Diego, CA; 37211 with LanguageArts, LLC, of Chatsworth, CA; 37208 with Language Network, Inc., of West Hollywood, CA; 37111 with TLC Interpreting & Translation Services, Inc., of Long Beach, CA; and 37110 with Translate Express, Inc., of Arcadia, CA, for comprehensive language services across departments, to increase the annual aggregate contract amount by $100,000, for a revised total annual aggregate contract amount not to exceed $600,000. (Citywide)
DISCUSSION
City Council approval is requested to increase the annual aggregate contract amount for the language access services bench from $500,000 to $600,000 with Cal Interpreting & Translations; Effectiff, LLC; Interpreters Unlimited, Inc.; LanguageArts, LLC; Language Network, Inc.; TLC Interpreting & Translation Services, Inc.; and Translate Express, Inc., for the continued delivery of comprehensive language services across the City of Long Beach (City) departments. The contract amendments are requested across the contractor bench to maintain service continuity and align with projected workload needs.
At its meeting on July 16, 2024, the City Council awarded contracts to the languages access services bench as part of its adoption of Specifications No. RFP CM-23-303 for comprehensive language services for a period of 2 years, with the option to renew for three additional one-year periods, at the discretion of the City Manager.
Contract amendments are requested to meet the City’s ongoing need for high-quality, culturally responsive interpretation and translation services. The City spends an average of $600,000 annually on these services, and increasing the contract authority for the upcoming yearly periods will ensure the Language Access Program remains within budget while meeting service demands. Requests for language access support have steadily grown, with interpretation services accounting for most costs. The contractors will continue to provide essential services across multiple language groups, adapting to diverse registers, genres, and specialized terminology required by departments citywide.
Office of the City Manager
411 W. Ocean Boulevard, 10th Floor, Long Beach, CA 90802 (562) 570-6711
Honorable Mayor and City Council
September 22, 2026
2 3
4 3
This matter was reviewed by Deputy City Attorney Atoy H. Wilson on September 2, 2026, Procurement Analyst Tommy Ryan on August 20, 2026, and by Revenue Management Officer Valerie Valentine on August 26, 2026.
TIMING CONSIDERATIONS
City Council action to amend vendor Contracts Nos. 37209, 37210, 37288, 37211, 37208, 37111, and 37110 is requested on September 22, 2026, to ensure there is no interruption to services.
EQUITY LENS
The City has incorporated the Equity Toolkit in this recommendation, as requested by the City Council on April 21, 2020. The services derived from this contract were completed in accordance with procurement procedures. The Framework for Reconciliation (Framework), initially adopted in 2020, seeks to address racism as a public health crisis, restore public trust in City government, and reconcile the gap in the experiences of marginalized people who live and work in Long Beach. The Language Access Program (LAP) aligns with Goal 1, Strategy 4.B of the Framework (“Develop the Office of Equity’s staff and fiscal capacity to meet the rising demands for racial equity efforts, including funding for Language Access Policy implementation, implementation of the Equity Toolkit for City Staff and Leaders, participation in the Government Alliance on Race and Equity, and racial equity training for City staff”) and with Goal 1, Strategy 3.B (“Overcome barriers to participation through language access, child watch, stipends, free or low-cost access to accessible meeting spaces, and transportation”).
FISCAL IMPACT
The requested action increases the annual aggregate contract authority with Cal Interpreting & Translations; Effectiff, LLC; Interpreters Unlimited, Inc.; LanguageArts, LLC; Language Network, Inc.; TLC Interpreting & Translation Services, Inc.; and Translate Express, Inc. by $100,000. The new total annual aggregate amount of the contracts will not exceed $600,000. Sufficient appropriation for language services is budgeted in the General Fund Group in the City Manager Department. The City Manager Department will continue to centrally administer the Language Access Program to fulfill requests from other City departments and all expenditures will be incurred in the City Manager Department. These costs will be shared with City departments through an interdepartmental Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with departments contributing an annual amount based on their utilization of the Language Access Program services in previous years. This recommendation has no staffing impact beyond the normal budgeted scope of duties and is consistent with existing City Council priorities. Approval of this recommendation is anticipated to result in a positive local job impact.
Honorable Mayor and City Council
September 22, 2026
2 3
4 3
APPROVED:
_______________________
THOMAS B. MODICA
CITY MANAGER
SUGGESTED ACTION:
Approve recommendation.
Respectfully submitted,
April Walker
Assistant City Manager