Brookhaven staff weigh website redesign, ADA fixes and board iPads; live text‑to‑speech seen as resource‑intensive

City staff told the Brookhaven board they have a quote for a full website refresh that "exceeds well past $5,000" and are exploring lower‑cost options, including an in‑house approach and a free ticketing system to handle citizen work orders.

The staff presenter said the priority is better public access and ADA compliance; "we don't have the manpower" to run live text‑to‑speech during meetings, though YouTube closed captioning is available for recordings. The presenter said an agenda could be posted for viewers but cautioned that if the agenda changes mid‑meeting staff cannot easily update a live transcript without affecting the meeting flow.

The board received distributed iPads and prefilled fixed‑asset forms from the presenter and was instructed to sign and submit the forms to the city's fixed‑asset coordinator, April Williford. Staff said cellular capabilities on the devices exist but are not enabled, and that an acceptable‑use policy and device agreements are being developed.

Board members asked whether posted agendas or live captions could make bundled consent items clearer for viewers; staff said budget spreadsheets and real‑time budget status would have to come from City Hall systems and are not provided automatically by the livestream technology.

Next steps: staff will continue evaluating lower‑cost website and ticketing options, finalize device policies and report back with recommended approaches and cost estimates.