Eureka staff outline web accessibility work as ADA rules change

Suzanne Rosmantel, Eureka’s digital services specialist, presented an overview of web accessibility requirements and the city’s plan to comply with new ADA web and mobile rules.

Rosmantel explained the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) and said the Department of Justice update to ADA Title II (web and mobile accessibility) will require state and local governments to make content accessible, with staggered compliance deadlines tied to jurisdiction population. “Screen readers or assistive technology can access content so that people who are low‑vision or blind can listen to what's on a page,” Rosmantel said, and added that accessibility also improves machine readability and search outcomes.

Rosmantel told council the city’s main site runs on CivicPlus (a CMS vendor) and staff retain responsibility for content; the vendor is responsible for platform structure. The city's next steps include an internal audit of pages, a web content style guide incorporating WCAG, and a website redesign (part of the CivicPlus contract) timed to coordinate with the compliance schedule. Rosmantel said staff will also catalog third‑party sites and require vendors to meet accessibility standards in contracts.

Council members asked about PDFs, automated remediation tools, and whether third‑party vendors would be liable; Rosmantel said agencies elsewhere (e.g., Colorado) have taken different approaches to third‑party liability and that automated tools can help but are not a complete solution. She offered to provide additional technical detail and training and provided an email for follow‑up.