Staff previews proposed city website redesign; accessibility, mobile use and costs highlighted

City staff provided an informational presentation on June 3 outlining plans for a website redesign that would be proposed in the 2026 budget cycle, citing a mobile-first audience, accessibility requirements and estimated five-year costs.

Ashlyn (web services staff) said analytics show roughly 50% to 70% of visitors access the site on mobile devices and that the U.S. Department of Justice'related compliance timeline would require the city to meet Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) AA by April 2027. Staff proposed a discovery process and an eventual competitive RFP to select a vendor. Ashlyn presented preliminary five-year total-cost-of-ownership estimates from three options: the current vendor Granicus (platform migration to Open Cities) at about $153,000 over five years; GovStack at roughly $92,000; and a local agency model, which staff said might have higher up-front cost but potentially lower ongoing hosting fees.

Public commenters and commissioners supported prioritizing accessibility and usability. BJ, a member of the Commission for People with Disabilities, thanked staff for outreach and offered the commission as a resource for usability and accessibility testing; Ashlyn agreed the commission would be a key stakeholder. Alder Foley and other committee members emphasized ease of access to meeting agendas, minutes, recordings and construction or service alerts; staff noted meeting-portal integration is limited because the committee is under contract with a separate meeting portal vendor and full integration could require substantial additional investment.

Ashlyn said the website redesign is informational at this stage; staff will pursue discovery, internal department and community focus groups, and an RFP process during the 2026 budget planning cycle. No committee vote was required.