Council presses staff on ADA tools, language support and security for website migration

Council members spent part of the meeting drilling into accessibility functionality and security for the proposed CivicPlus migration.

Diane described vendor tools that would routinely scan and correct accessibility gaps and said the platform includes options "to translate into any of 200 different languages." She pointed to AudioEye as a technology partner that combines automation with expert audits to reach WCAG standards. Members asked follow-up questions about fillable forms, digital signatures and how deeply CivicPlus would integrate electronic signature workflows.

The chair underscored cybersecurity concerns, citing previous breaches: "My biggest concern is the security of our information. ... We've had data breaches. We've had malware attacks and all that." Diane responded that vendor partners apply regular patches and that the town's existing contract arrangements and account managers would help ensure updates.

Council requested more detailed pricing and a technical security summary as part of the requested vendor quotes; staff said they would return with the three-tiered proposals and a deeper scope at the next work session.