IT Governance Business Case
Background
New Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements are coming into effect April 24, 2026. The City purchased new software to facilitate immediate compliance:
- AudioEye for remediating web pages
- Allyant for remediating PDFs
Technology Solutions Project Management Office (TS PMO) is leading short-term remediation efforts, and beginning long-term compliance efforts focused on best practices and accountability.
Current policy assigns Web Managers to each department, responsible for ensuring all compliance for their department's published web content. This policy has never been enforced until recently, so Web Managers and Web Editors are undergoing re-training, and an accountability structure is being developed.
Current Business Problem
The City lacks the capacity needed to ensure long-term ADA compliance after the initial PMO-supported push. It lacks both ongoing funding for the current stopgap tools, and the best practices and accountability needed for long-term compliance.
Current Pain Points
• No funding beyond FY26 for remediation tools
• Best practices not yet established for long-term compliance
• Stopgap tools still time-intensive for PDF remediation
• Communications lacks long-term management capacity
• Web Managers still adjusting to new accountability
• Web editors unaccustomed to accessibility standards
Future State Benefits
• Funded tools until practices mature
• Best practices adopted, replacing need for stopgap tools
• Stopgap tools includes automated PDF remediation
• Dedicated compliance manager
• Web Managers ensure departmental compliance
• Web Editors consistently apply accessibility standards
Strategic Alignment
Analysis and Recommended Solution
Solution Analysis
• Compliance Risk after 2026. Subscriptions to AudioEye & Allyant expire EOY 2026; without action, City web pages revert to non-compliance.
• Capacity Gap. Achieving sustainable compliance requires an estimated 950 staff hours annually for training, accountability & process improvements. Communications has only ~250 annual hours available, leaving a 700-hour gap that cannot be closed under current staffing.
• Need for Interim Measures. Until best practices & accountability are fully implemented, continued reliance on stopgap tools is necessary to maintain compliance during the transition period.
Solution Analysis
• New ADA Tool. Our website provider CivicPlus has acquired a new tool for PDF remediation in addition to Allyant
Recommended Solution: Extend funding for stopgap solutions
AudioEye & DocAccess
Description
Extend AudioEye licensing & adopt DocAccess to ensure automated compliance until accessibility process is established
Pros
• Provides compliance coverage while content governance is being finalized
• AudioEye converts web pages to compliant formatting
• DocAccess auto- converts PDFs into ADA-compliant web pages
Cons
• Additional staff availability needed to ensure long-term ADA compliance
TS Architecture Review
The recommended solution meets the architectural standards for the City of Durham.
Cybersecurity Review
The recommended solution meets the cybersecurity standards for the City of Durham.
Recommended Solution - Project Financial Estimate
Risk Identification
Mitigation Risk (Costs)
• N/A
Contingency Risk (Costs)
• N/A
Our ask
We are asking the IT Governance Steering Committee to approve and score the business case to extend AudioEye & DocAccess funding to maintain Communications' compliance while new policies are established. If approved, the business case will be submitted to the City Manager for final approval.