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Communications staff urge accelerated website redesign and ADA compliance spending
Summary
The communications and marketing team requested accelerating hires and funding for a website redesign, an accessibility/quality tool, and two marketing positions to support the city’s expanding digital and event workload.
Temple — City communications staff presented a package of staffing and technology requests at the budget retreat aimed at improving the city’s website, ADA accessibility and marketing capacity as the city grows and events expand.
The communications director said the city’s web platform currently shows many accessibility issues in an automated audit and requested funding to accelerate a planned website redesign, buy an accessibility and quality‑management tool to manage scoreable issues, and move up three staff hires already in the multi‑year plan. The department said it found more than 46,000 accessibility issues in an automated check across a variety of categories and that federal guidance on website accessibility likely will increase compliance obligations.
Specific requests included accelerating a website coordinator position into FY26 (originally planned later), an additional marketing specialist to handle department workload, a creative‑services graphic designer hire and increased funds for a citywide website redesign for the main city site and two department sites (parks and library). Staff said the accessibility/quality‑management tool would automate many fixes and reduce labor needed to reach compliance.
The presentation also requested modest increases to event advertising budgets for growing programs such as Holly Jolly Temple and ongoing investments in destination marketing and analytics tools to measure event attendance and visitor origin.
Ending: Councilors asked staff to return with vendor options and precise cost estimates for the website redesign and accessibility tool so the IT and finance teams can evaluate procurement and timing for possible FY26 funding.
