Ellensburg staff outline sweeping web accessibility work after DOJ update; compliance due April 26, 2027

Nicole Klaus, the City of Ellensburg’s public information officer, told the City Council at its April 17 study session that the Department of Justice updated Title II accessibility rules in 2024 and that the city must comply with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 Level AA by April 26, 2027.

Klaus said the change “is just about making sure everyone can access government,” and that compliance will cover the city website, mobile apps, video, social media and third‑party applications the public uses.

The requirement, Klaus said, will mean more staff time to inventory gaps, create processes, provide training and implement accessible practices such as correct heading order, image descriptions, labeled form fields, sufficient color contrast and long descriptions for complex graphics. She said captions and transcripts for video will be a “big one” because automated captions are not always accurate and agencies are still working through how to provide descriptions of what is shown on screen.

Klaus said some exceptions will apply: archived web content that is not in current use, preexisting materials that are no longer used, and certain third‑party content such as user posts on a message board. She also said individualized, password‑protected documents (for example, an individual’s water bill) are likely to be exempt, though the city’s utility billing site itself would have to comply.

Staff outlined immediate next steps: IT, the public information officer and human resources — which currently handles accessibility — will be the initial team to scope an RFP for a consultant to evaluate gaps and develop a compliance timeline. Klaus said the city will likely need consultants and vendor contract language to ensure future products (for example, a comprehensive plan or a transit vendor interface) are delivered in accessible formats.

Council members asked whether departments would individually monitor compliance and whether outside audits would be expected. Klaus said the city is at the start of the process, that every department will be involved and trained, and that while there is not a specific government agency that will conduct routine audits, noncompliance could expose the city to potential lawsuits.

Council discussion emphasized cost and staff time. One councilmember asked for cost estimates over a multi‑year period; another asked staff to return with options and likely resource needs before the council considered policy changes. Several councilmembers said they want an RFP and cost projections to appear on a future agenda.

Klaus also cited some baseline communications statistics the city will use to prioritize work: 54% of website visits are from mobile devices; the city newsletter open rate is 66% (compared with a 42% industry average for government newsletters); and YouTube council‑meeting viewing hours rose to 2,228.8 hours in 2024, a 205% increase over the prior year.

Why this matters: the rule change expands the technical and staffing work required for nearly every public‑facing digital asset the city produces. The April 26, 2027 deadline gives the city about two years to inventory, remediate and build long‑term practices and contract language.

What happens next: City staff said they will draft an RFP to identify consultant support, assess gaps, estimate staffing and cost, and return to council with options for policy or budget changes.