Town clerk warns of DOJ captioning requirement; events calendar and audit timeline updated

Town staff gave multiple routine reports Oct. 11, including an accessibility compliance deadline, event planning updates and an audit timeline.

Town Clerk Rhonda North told the council the U.S. Department of Justice "implemented some local government ADA compliance rulings" that will require the town to provide closed captioning on meeting videos and social-media videos beginning April 24, 2027. "I do anticipate there will be a cost involved in that, which means it will affect our next budget that we will soon be starting to work on," she said, and noted she is coordinating with Town Manager Danny Davis on budgeting for the required work.

Rhonda also reminded council members that annual COIA (Conflict of Interest Act) training must be completed by Dec. 31 of the year.

Events and community programming were a second area of staff focus. Allie (staff) briefed the council on continuing planning for Middleburg Oktoberfest improvements — particularly reducing beverage lines — and listed a series of upcoming events including a first-Saturday December event, food-truck coordination, the Jingle in the Burg event on Dec. 13 (including street vendors and performances) and the Middleburg Film Festival next week.

Finance Director Angela (staff) said the audit team had access to Laserfiche and expects a draft audit in the next couple of weeks; auditors will present to the Strategic Finance Committee on Nov. 17 and to the council the following month. Angela noted that August meals tax and transient-occupancy-tax (TOT) revenues payable in September showed a sizable increase, but staff said it is not yet clear whether that increase is sustainable.

Ending: Staff flagged timing and budget implications: the captioning requirement will affect the next budget cycle, audit results are forthcoming in November/December, and events planning will continue with attention to vendor and crowd-management details.