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New Carlisle staff warn municipal website noncompliant with ADA; estimate $10–15K implementation and 12-week build
Summary
City Manager told council the municipal website does not meet ADA/WCAG standards and staff have vendor proposals; estimated one-time costs of roughly $10,000–$15,000 and $5,000 annual maintenance, and a 12‑week build timeline to meet an April compliance deadline for cities under 50,000.
City of New Carlisle staff told council on Feb. 17 that an Ohio state mandate requires municipal websites to meet accessibility standards (WCAG/ADA) and that the city's current website is not compliant. The manager said staff met with a vendor (Civics Plus was cited) that demonstrated accessibility tools and offered a proposal; estimated implementation costs ranged from about $10,000 for setup to approximately $15,000, with annual maintenance around $5,000.
Timeline and budget implications: staff said a typical build is about 12 weeks and that the compliance deadline cited at the meeting was April 27, 2026 for cities under 50,000 people. Because the project was not in the current budget, staff said a supplemental appropriation may be needed if work must begin immediately to meet the deadline; alternatively, the city could budget the work for 2027.
Operational considerations: staff flagged compatibility questions between vendor platforms and the city’s financial/permit software. Manager stressed avoiding operational disruption during implementation and suggested phasing work to verify compatibility with the finance director and other departments.
What council directed: council asked staff to continue due diligence, obtain quotes and confirm timeline and software compatibility; finance staff will evaluate whether the project can be covered in the current budget or will require a supplemental appropriation.
