For many special districts, bringing their websites and documents in line with ADA web accessibility standards can feel like checking off to-do items: make webpages accessible, remediate existing inaccessible PDFs, and upload new documents in accessible formats.
But a district can spend months making its documents accessible, only for new accessibility barriers to emerge when a newly appointed board secretary uploads a scanned agenda packet or a part-time administrator posts a revised budget without knowing whether residents using screen readers can access it.
Board packets, budgets, reports, and public notices are routinely being published for residents. However, staff members can change, board secretaries will retire and volunteers and part-time administrators may take on new responsibilities. Without an accessibility framework with the tools and publishing procedures needed, districts that have invested in accessibility can still find themselves repeatedly fixing the same problems.
These accessibility barriers can especially impact special district residents with smaller staff and reduced budgets. Additionally, residents with disabilities may be unable to access information about essential services, from drinking water and fire protection to utilities and emergency services.
Recent CivicPlus research on the state of resident trust in local government reinforces why residents’ digital experiences matter: 62% of residents agreed that the quality of a local government’s website reflects the quality of its leadership. This finding represents an opportunity for leaders to embrace web accessibility and transform how they operate and gain trust with residents. For smaller communities or special districts, rather than continually fixing accessibility problems after they occur, leaders should focus on modernizing how they create and share information, making public services easier to access while reducing repetitive administrative work for staff.
Making Accessible Publishing Part of Everyday Operations
I’ve learned from working with thousands of local government websites that documents are often just as important as the websites themselves. Online information and official records are how districts communicate decisions and demonstrate accountability.
For special districts, these materials frequently come from multiple sources. A water district may receive engineering studies from consultants, while a fire protection district may publish inspection reports prepared by outside contractors. Board secretaries must often assemble these materials under tight meeting deadlines.
That’s why accessibility needs to begin before a document reaches the website. Districts can establish accessibility standards for documents submitted by staff and outside vendors, incorporate automated accessibility checks into their publishing processes, and regularly review newly published content to catch problems before they become recurring barriers.
Rather than requiring staff to manually remediate every document, new tools can help districts integrate accessibility into their existing publishing workflows. For example, automated accessibility tools can scan documents, identify potential barriers, and convert PDFs into more accessible HTML-based formats that residents can navigate using screen readers and mobile devices.
For a small district, that means less time spent fixing documents and more time focused on the services residents depend on. For residents, it means being able to understand a proposed water rate increase or participate in an upcoming board decision without having to ask for information in a format they can use.
To reinforce the importance of accessible, user-friendly digital experiences, recent research found that 66% of residents who described their local government website as easy to navigate are likely to increase their civic engagement, compared with just 28% who found it difficult to use.
New tools alone aren’t enough. Special districts also need to establish clear responsibility for accessibility, incorporate training into staff onboarding and document procedures for handling inaccessible submissions.
The DOJ’s Small Entity Compliance Guide offers additional ADA web accessibility guidance for public entities.
Make Accessibility Part of Good Governance
For special districts, the measure of a successful accessibility program is whether the next webpage, agenda, budget or public notice is accessible regardless of who prepares it or who needs to read it.
Special districts have a generational opportunity to transform how they operate and build more efficient, resilient, and inclusive public services. By making accessibility part of everyday operations, they can ensure that the information residents depend on remains available to everyone, even as the people and technologies delivering those services change.
Mac Clemmens is the CivicPlus® Senior Vice President of Product Strategy and Innovation and the Co-Founder of DocAccess and Streamline. He is a proud advocate of website accessibility and local government, having presented on the subject at conferences nationwide. He received the prestigious “Vision Award” from Disability Rights California — the nation’s largest disability rights advocacy organization — in recognition of his commitment to creating accessible website experiences for all users. Mac is passionate about helping local governments tell their stories and engage with their communities, ensuring that the fear of ADA noncompliance doesn’t stand in the way.
Photo Credit: Kampus Production, Pexels
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