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County staff warns of heavy burden from 2027 state ADA requirement for online budgets
Summary
Staff told the Pratt County commission that state-level requirements will force all budget documents on county websites to be ADA accessible beginning in 2027, a task that will require tagging spreadsheets and PDFs and may force small taxing entities to pay for outside help.
County staff warned the commissioners that state guidance will require budgets and many documents posted on county websites to be ADA accessible starting in 2027, creating a substantial technical workload for county and local taxing-entity clerks.
A staff member summarized the training findings: "They said that everything they have on their website starting in 2027 has to be ADA compliant," and added that while the federal deadline was described as 2028 for some obligations, the state timeline differs. The staff member explained that making spreadsheets and chart pages accessible requires tagging and code changes and that much of the budget material is currently in spreadsheet form. The staff member said county clerks were told to submit budgets in a tagged Excel or PDF format and that smaller taxing entities likely lack the resources to perform the conversion without paying for third-party services.
Commissioners noted the burdens on volunteer township officials and other small entities and discussed the possible need to charge those entities or find an outside vendor to prepare accessible files. The clerk and staff said the county will discuss options and likely need to coordinate with department administration or seek an external solution.
Why it matters: the requirement will affect how the county publishes fiscal materials and may create costs for small taxing entities and volunteer-run offices. The county's approach to compliance will influence transparency and accessibility for residents with disabilities.
Next steps: staff will investigate options for software or vendors that can convert budgets to the required tagged formats and keep the board updated.
