County staff warn new ADA‑accessibility rules for budgets will burden small taxing entities

County staff briefed the board on recent guidance requiring budget documents to be made accessible and 'tagged' for ADA compliance when submitted to the state. Heather told the commissioners the state's deadline and approach differ from federal expectations and that many small taxing entities lack the capacity to perform the required reformatting.

"The state's current position is that that's a local issue," Heather said, explaining that while the federal ADA compliance timeline is centered on 2028, the state expects submissions in 2027 and is asking that budgets be submitted in accessibility‑tagged formats. Staff noted the Department of Administration supplies a workbook but said it may not eliminate the need for paid conversion services for smaller taxing authorities and volunteer clerks.

Heather said clerks were told they must submit budget files with correct accessibility tags and that conversion is a technical, time‑intensive task: "It's not going to be easy." Commissioners asked who will bear the cost; staff replied the state-provided program may not be accessible to all taxing entities and that many will need to pay outside vendors to meet the requirement.

Staff named individuals and offices assisting with compliance outreach and said they would continue to coordinate options to reduce the burden on smaller taxing bodies.