Public website
Templates, navigation, search, forms, and published content.
ADA Title II · WCAG 2.1 Level AA
WCAG 2.1 AA across websites, documents, and the services residents use.
Public Layer helps towns, cities, counties, and districts assess, implement, and maintain digital accessibility.
cityofsample.gov
Screen reader
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What we cover
Accessibility extends beyond the municipal website.
We remediate the websites and active documents your staff controls. For permitting, meetings, records, payments, and other vendor systems, we document the barrier, define the required fix, and independently verify the vendor's work.
The digital estate
Official documents
Agendas, minutes, packets, applications, notices, and active records.
Contracted services
Permitting, meetings, records, applications, and payment systems operated by outside providers.
One technical standard
WCAG 2.1 Level AA
One accessibility program across the systems residents depend on.
Common municipal platforms
We work within the platforms already in place. The standard does not change with the vendor.
CivicPlus
Granicus
Revize
Deadlines
The DOJ set the standard. We implement it.
State and local government websites and mobile apps must meet WCAG 2.1 Level AA, including those operated by vendors on the government's behalf.
50,000 or more
April 26, 2027
Cities, counties, and other public entities at or above the population threshold.
Under 50,000 and special districts
April 26, 2028
Most towns and every special district government.
How it works
Find the barriers. Fix the systems. Hold the standard.
We identify what is failing, fix what your staff controls, and verify what vendors change. Then we put checks in place so new pages, PDFs, and system updates do not undo the work.
Three phases. One accountable record.
- 01
Assessment
Inventory the websites, active documents, and vendor systems in use. Test the tasks residents need to complete. Deliver a ranked work plan with evidence, owners, and clear completion tests.
- 02
Implementation
Fix templates, content, and active documents your staff controls. For vendor systems, define the required changes and independently retest the work when it ships.
- 03
Assurance
Recheck the inventory on a set schedule, catch new barriers, and build accessibility into publishing and procurement.
Start with an assessment.
The assessment gives leadership an inventory, tested findings, priorities, owners, and a practical sequence for remediation.
Request an assessmentExample deliverable
Leadership brief
Ranked findings
- Emergency closure notices are posted as images with no equivalent text
- Vendor-hosted utility payment cannot be completed with a keyboard and screen reader
- Permit application fields are unlabeled, and validation errors are not announced
- Council meeting recordings lack synchronized captions
- The current agenda packet is a scan with no text layer, headings, or logical reading order
- Mobile navigation does not expose control names, states, or focus correctly
- Public notice text, links, and form controls fail minimum contrast requirements
Each finding carries evidence, severity, ownership, and acceptance criteria. Leadership knows what to fix, who owns it, and how completion will be verified.
Experience
Municipal experience. Certified accessibility expertise.
Public Layer brings hands-on municipal experience across public websites, official documents, publishing workflows, and vendor-run resident services. We turn WCAG 2.1 AA requirements into work municipal staff can sustain, vendors can execute, and leadership can verify.
Contact
Tell us where things stand.
Request an assessment, ask about work already underway, or send a general accessibility question. We'll respond with a practical next step.