05/04/2026
Councilmember Mary Ann Pacheco challenged the city to do more than post resources in Spanish.
"Some things may be available, but if you don't know how to get them, or you dont know they exist, they are in reality not accessible. So they may as well not exist," Pacheco said at the April 28 City Council meeting.
The topic was Whittier's Title VI Program Plan, a federal civil rights requirement for any city that receives federal transportation funding. The plan, updated every three years, is meant to ensure the city's transit services are accessible to all residents regardless of race, color, or national origin.
This update covers Dial-A-Ride, a city-operated transportation service for seniors and residents with disabilities.
The plan outlines bilingual brochures, Spanish website translation, and interpretation at City Council meetings upon request. It does not describe any targeted outreach to make sure Spanish-speaking residents know those resources exist.
According to the plan, which cites 2021 U.S. Census data, roughly 7,033 Whittier residents, about 8.6% of the population, speak English "less than very well."
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๐ฎ๐บ๐ฝ๐น๐ฒ ๐๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ๐ ๐ผ๐๐: A Spanish-language notice posted on Dial-A-Ride vehicles and at senior centers is supposed to tell riders how to reach the city if they believe their civil rights have been violated. Questions about the level of review given to the Spanish-language version arise from two details: typos in the Spanish text and a wrong number, a 559 area code that reaches Able Inc., a disability employment nonprofit in Visalia, nearly 200 miles away, with no connection to the City of Whittier.
For a Spanish-speaking resident who sees that notice on a vehicle and calls, it leads to Visalia.
