Is Ely's Website Ready for the ADA Title II Deadline?
Did you know the deadline already changed?
The deadline you may have written down last year is no longer the right one. A DOJ Interim Final Rule issued April 20, 2026 extended the original ADA Title II dates by one year, so Ely now has until April 26, 2028. That extra year is exactly the window to find and fix problems before enforcement begins — the DOJ has given no signal that the date will move again.
Ely's latest accessibility scan
Overall compliance risk: High — 2 citizen services residents with disabilities may be unable to use
⚠ Critical Service Risks
These citizen services appear to have no accessible alternative pathway — the highest-exposure findings in this scan:
- Utility service sign-up or management — The only pathway we found for this service fails 2 serious accessibility checks — including: text is too low-contrast against its background to read comfortably. Residents using assistive technology may be unable to complete it.
- Public records / records request — The only pathway we found for this service fails 2 serious accessibility checks — including: text is too low-contrast against its background to read comfortably. Residents using assistive technology may be unable to complete it.
Top issues, in plain English
- serious Links have no readable text — screen reader users can't tell where they lead (WCAG 2.4.4 · 56 pages)
- serious Links are distinguishable only by color, invisible to color-blind users (WCAG 1.4.1 · 6 pages)
- serious Text is too low-contrast against its background to read comfortably (WCAG 1.4.3 · 4 pages)
- moderate The page blocks zooming, so low-vision users can't enlarge text (WCAG 1.4.4 · 56 pages)
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What WCAG 2.1 Level AA means for city government websites
With 3,892 residents, Ely falls under the DOJ's small-entity tier (under 50,000 population), which comes with the later of the two federal deadlines — but the same technical standard.
WCAG 2.1 Level AA is the technical standard the DOJ adopted for ADA Title II. In plain terms, it's a checklist that makes sure residents who use screen readers, keyboard navigation, or captions can actually use your website: text on every image, labels on every form field, enough color contrast to read, and video captions.
Smaller entities sometimes assume they're exempt. They aren't — the later deadline is the only accommodation the rule makes for size. Services like utility bill payment, permit applications, and public meeting agendas all need to work for residents with disabilities.
Ely is a smaller community, and its website is the front door for utility bill payment, permit applications, and public meeting agendas. Under ADA Title II, that front door has to work for every resident.
Don't find out about problems from a demand letter
A11yCheck monitors Ely's website continuously and sends a plain-English weekly digest — no technical background needed.