LaSalle County IT warns April deadline for WCAG 2.1 AA will require captioning and extra staffing

John, an IT department staffer, told the LaSalle County IT and Central Services committee on Nov. 7 that new web-accessibility requirements will affect how the county posts meetings and maintains its website.

"Our meetings that are on YouTube are not closed captioned," John said, adding that the rules require captions "and it needs to be accurate." He said the compliance start date is April 28 and asked the board to make the issue a standing item so staff can return with cost estimates and options.

The matter matters because the requirement is tied to the federal ADA Title II rule and Illinoiss Information Technology Accessibility Act, John said during the report. He warned that automated captions on platforms such as YouTube often produce errors; complying will likely mean either purchasing additional software or hiring staff to correct captions after meetings.

John said the countys current Webex/YouTube subscription is due to renew in January at about $8,000 and that captioning or remediation software would be an additional, unplanned cost. "If we're not gonna do it, I think we make that call then," he said, referring to the subscription renewal decision.

Board members asked whether software could solve the accuracy problem and whether the county could rely on YouTubes automated captions. John said accuracy and ambient-noise errors are the primary concern: "Is somebody gonna find that 10% not right and come after us for that?" He said some counties are hiring staff whose sole job is to correct captions.

John said he would work with county counsel and department directors, gather vendor quotes and return with an estimate by December so the board could consider the cost before the January renewal.

The committee did not take formal action on the item during the Nov. 7 meeting; John asked that it remain on the agenda as old business.