Town of Buena Vista Technology Accessibility Plan

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Golden wildflowers blanket the valley floor beneath Buena Vista, Colorado, with the Collegiate Peaks rising in background.

Project Title: Town of Buena Vista Technology Accessibility Pan

Project purpose or justification: To ensure the City’s websites, digital services, mobile apps, and outward-facing communications comply with:

  • Colorado HB21-1110 and implementing rules (8 CCR 1501-11)

  • ADA Title II Final Rule (2024) requiring WCAG 2.1 AA compliance for digital services by April 26, 2027 (small entity deadline)

This project affirms the Town's commitment to equitable access, reduces legal and financial risk, and strengthens community trust.

Project Objectives:

  • Publish a public accessibility statement and grievance/redress process by September 30, 2025.

  • Inventory all public-facing digital assets (websites, apps, PDFs, forms, videos, social channels) by Q3 2025.

  • Remediate all high-traffic and critical services content (home page, bill pay, permits, agendas/minutes) by Q2 2026.

  • Establish and deliver staff training and accessible templates for documents, emails, social media, and videos by Q4 2026.

  • Achieve full WCAG 2.1 AA compliance across all city digital services by April 26, 2027, including third-party vendor platforms.

  • Build a sustainable governance model for ongoing compliance, monitoring, and reporting.

  • Research partnerships and products

Project scope:

In Scope:

  • City websites, subdomains, and web apps

  • Digital documents (PDF, Word, PowerPoint, etc.) shared publicly

  • Mobile applications and kiosk interfaces

  • Videos, audio, livestreams, social media, email/newsletters

  • Third-party platforms providing public services (payment, GIS, permitting)

Out of Scope (but monitored):

  • Internal employee systems not used by the public

  • Historical/archived documents (unless still in active use)

Project deliverable:

Project stakeholders:

  • Project Sponsor (City Manager): Oversight, budget authority, council reporting

  • Accessibility Coordinator: Project lead, training, monitoring, vendor management

  • IT/Web Services: Implement technical remediations, maintain monitoring tools

  • Communications/Public Info: Ensure accessible documents, social, newsletters, video captions

  • Clerk’s Office: Oversee meeting agendas/minutes; manage grievance records

  • Procurement: Require WCAG 2.1 AA compliance and VPATs in contracts

  • Legal: Advise on risk, redress, and exceptions

Project Timeline:

  • 2025 Q2: Appoint Accessibility Lead; publish Accessibility Statement; complete digital asset inventory

  • 2025 Q4: Train staff; adopt policies; fix homepage & top 20 pages

  • 2026 Q2: Remediate top 50 documents; ensure captions/transcripts on all new videos; accessible templates deployed

  • 2026 Q4: Complete remediation of all “high-use” content; vendor accessibility audits/contracts complete

  • 2027 Q1: Clear remaining backlog; conduct community user testing; final compliance check

  • 2027 Q2 (April 26): City declares full WCAG 2.1 AA compliance

Project Budget:

  • Staff training (initial + annual refreshers)

  • Automated scanning/monitoring software

  • Professional remediation services (PDFs, complex web apps)

  • Captioning & transcription services

  • Consultant support for annual accessibility audit

  • Contingency for vendor remediation costs

Project Title: Town of Buena Vista Technology Accessibility Pan

Project purpose or justification: To ensure the City’s websites, digital services, mobile apps, and outward-facing communications comply with:

  • Colorado HB21-1110 and implementing rules (8 CCR 1501-11)

  • ADA Title II Final Rule (2024) requiring WCAG 2.1 AA compliance for digital services by April 26, 2027 (small entity deadline)

This project affirms the Town's commitment to equitable access, reduces legal and financial risk, and strengthens community trust.

Project Objectives:

  • Publish a public accessibility statement and grievance/redress process by September 30, 2025.

  • Inventory all public-facing digital assets (websites, apps, PDFs, forms, videos, social channels) by Q3 2025.

  • Remediate all high-traffic and critical services content (home page, bill pay, permits, agendas/minutes) by Q2 2026.

  • Establish and deliver staff training and accessible templates for documents, emails, social media, and videos by Q4 2026.

  • Achieve full WCAG 2.1 AA compliance across all city digital services by April 26, 2027, including third-party vendor platforms.

  • Build a sustainable governance model for ongoing compliance, monitoring, and reporting.

  • Research partnerships and products

Project scope:

In Scope:

  • City websites, subdomains, and web apps

  • Digital documents (PDF, Word, PowerPoint, etc.) shared publicly

  • Mobile applications and kiosk interfaces

  • Videos, audio, livestreams, social media, email/newsletters

  • Third-party platforms providing public services (payment, GIS, permitting)

Out of Scope (but monitored):

  • Internal employee systems not used by the public

  • Historical/archived documents (unless still in active use)

Project deliverable:

Project stakeholders:

  • Project Sponsor (City Manager): Oversight, budget authority, council reporting

  • Accessibility Coordinator: Project lead, training, monitoring, vendor management

  • IT/Web Services: Implement technical remediations, maintain monitoring tools

  • Communications/Public Info: Ensure accessible documents, social, newsletters, video captions

  • Clerk’s Office: Oversee meeting agendas/minutes; manage grievance records

  • Procurement: Require WCAG 2.1 AA compliance and VPATs in contracts

  • Legal: Advise on risk, redress, and exceptions

Project Timeline:

  • 2025 Q2: Appoint Accessibility Lead; publish Accessibility Statement; complete digital asset inventory

  • 2025 Q4: Train staff; adopt policies; fix homepage & top 20 pages

  • 2026 Q2: Remediate top 50 documents; ensure captions/transcripts on all new videos; accessible templates deployed

  • 2026 Q4: Complete remediation of all “high-use” content; vendor accessibility audits/contracts complete

  • 2027 Q1: Clear remaining backlog; conduct community user testing; final compliance check

  • 2027 Q2 (April 26): City declares full WCAG 2.1 AA compliance

Project Budget:

  • Staff training (initial + annual refreshers)

  • Automated scanning/monitoring software

  • Professional remediation services (PDFs, complex web apps)

  • Captioning & transcription services

  • Consultant support for annual accessibility audit

  • Contingency for vendor remediation costs

  • August 2025

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    Accessibility Products & Partnerships – Comparative Summary

    Category CommonLook (Allyant) Accessibility-as-a-Service (A3S) / A3SDocs + Training Other Partnerships & Tools (Alex Martinez Notes)
    Primary Focus PDF/document remediation & compliance End-to-end web & document accessibility with training & monitoring Mixed: free/low-cost training, AI/overlay tools, CivicPlus integration
    Core Offerings - CommonLook PDF, Office, Clarity, Validator tools for document testing & remediation
    - Training & compliance support    		 - A3S: subscription service with continuous audits, remediation, validation, VPAT/ACR documentation, monitoring
    - A3SDocs: HTML companions for PDFs to meet HB21-1110 & ADA Title II
    - Training: customizable workshops (half-day to multi-day)    		 - W3C WAI Foundations Course (free)
    - CivicPlus integration with AudioEye overlay
    - Acquia Optimize (Monsido) manual update guidance
    - CommonLook PDF remediation referenced
    Approach to PDFs Specialized remediation & validation (PAC, tagging, compliance automation) Provides conforming HTML alternatives alongside original PDFs; minimizes remediation load Prefers HTML over PDFs; overlays discouraged; manual remediation emphasized
    Compliance Standards WCAG 2.1/2.2, PDF/UA, Section 508 WCAG 2.2 AA, ADA Title II, Section 504, Section 508, CO HB21-1110 WCAG 2.1/2.2 AA; overlays claim compliance but may only partially achieve it
    Testing / Validation Automated validation + manual review Automated + manual testing with AT users (NVDA, VoiceOver, Axe, contrast tools, etc.) Uses WAVE, ANDI, Lighthouse; some reliance on overlays (AudioEye)
    Pricing Model Enterprise software licensing (cost varies by modules) Subscription:
    - $1,500/mo/site (A3S)
    - $500/mo (A3SDocs, up to 100 pages)
    - Workshops $4,800–$8,400/session    		 - W3C course: free
    - AudioEye: $2,500/year license (via CivicPlus, prorated free until 2026)
    - Acquia Optimize: consultative/manual
    Strengths - Industry leader for PDF remediation
    - Deep compliance validation tools
    - Widely recognized across government & education    		 - Full-spectrum service (web, docs, training)
    - Strong defensibility: ACR/VPAT maintained
    - Scalable for multiple domains
    - Local government experience (CO counties)    		 - Cost flexibility (free courses)
    - CivicPlus ecosystem integration
    - AudioEye offers "Trusted Certification"
    - State agency best-practice adoption
    Limitations - Narrower scope (document-centric, less web)
    - Requires trained staff to use tools effectively    		 - Higher ongoing costs
    - Relies on vendor-managed remediation (less internal autonomy)
    - Subscription model may exceed small-town budgets    		 - Overlays (AudioEye) criticized as only ~40% effective
    - CivicPlus reliance may limit customization
    - Fragmented approach compared to A3S
    Examples of Use Universities, government agencies ensuring PDF/UA compliance Gilpin, El Paso, Saguache Counties; Concorde College; MRO Corp; Atlantic Realty - Lake County (AudioEye via CivicPlus)
    - CO Department of Natural Resources (training videos, W3C course)
    - Local municipalities testing HTML-first strategies


    Analysis Highlights

    • CommonLook excels at document remediation and validation, making it ideal for agencies with large archives of PDFs but less support for ongoing web accessibility monitoring.

    • A3S/A3SDocs offers the most comprehensive, end-to-end solution, including audits, remediation, monitoring, documentation, and role-based training. It is especially aligned to Colorado HB21-1110 and municipal/state needs.

    • Other Partnerships (AudioEye, W3C, CivicPlus, Acquia Optimize) provide a mix of low-cost and automated options, but overlays (like AudioEye) are controversial, offering partial compliance at best. Free training options (W3C Foundations) are strong for staff capacity-building but do not replace robust compliance services.

    Key Takeaways for Buena Vista

    • Primary Fit → A3S/A3SDocs are best for long-term compliance, defensibility, and alignment with Colorado HB21-1110.

    • Training → Start with free/low-cost staff training (W3C Foundations, DNR training videos) before scaling to vendor-led workshops.

    • Documents → Move to HTML-first publishing via A3SDocs to avoid heavy PDF remediation.

    • Overlays (AudioEye) → Not recommended as a core solution; can supplement monitoring but should not replace manual/HTML compliance.


Page last updated: 16 Sep 2025, 11:15 AM