Key Takeaways
- Barry County Board packets often consist of image-only PDFs that lack searchable text, potentially violating ADA accessibility standards.
- The ADA’s effective communication requirement is already in effect, necessitating compliance even before the 2026 deadline for larger jurisdictions.
- Federal standards under Section 508 serve as benchmarks for digital accessibility, requiring searchable and screen reader-compatible documents.
- Accessibility is crucial for transparency and public oversight, as non-searchable documents hinder accountability and governance.
- Barry County must address these accessibility issues urgently to comply with ADA requirements and ensure equal access to public records.
QuickFAQs
Multiple recent packets appear to be image-only PDFs that lack searchable text and structured tagging.
Image-only PDFs are generally inaccessible to screen readers and may violate Title II of the ADA’s “effective communication” requirement.
The ADA’s effective communication requirement already applies. New DOJ regulations finalized in April 2024 clarify technical web accessibility standards, with compliance deadlines beginning in April 2026 for larger jurisdictions.
Barry County Board of Commissioners has an ADA Accessibility Problem. Let’s Unpack It.
While doing data analysis and research this week, I downloaded Barry County Board of Commissioners (BOC) packets and inadvertently, I tested for accessibility. The results were consistent:
- Text cannot be highlighted.
- Internal search does not function.
- Copy-and-paste fails.
- The document behaves as a flat image scan.
That means the packets appear to lack an OCR text layer and structured tagging.
To a casual reader or researcher , that is inconvenient.
To someone using assistive technology, it is a barrier.
What the Law Requires
Under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act, state and local governments must provide “effective communication” to individuals with disabilities.
In April 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice finalized regulations requiring state and local government web content to meet WCAG 2.1 Level AA standards. These standards require, among other things:
- Searchable, selectable text
- Logical document structure
- Proper tagging for screen reader navigation
- Remediation of image-only PDFs
Barry County’s population exceeds 50,000, which likely places it in the April 2026 compliance bracket under the new rule. Meaning? The clock is ticking.
However, the duty of effective communication already exists. Counties cannot wait until 2026 to provide accessible public records.
Section 508: The Federal Accessibility Baseline
As a former public servant, I was responsible for Section 508 compliance in my federal office. Accessibility was not optional. It was operational. Documents could not be published unless they met federal standards for usability and assistive technology compatibility.
Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, 29 U.S.C. § 794d, applies directly to federal agencies and requires their electronic documents, including PDFs, to be accessible. That includes:
- Searchable and selectable text
- OCR for scanned documents
- Proper tagging and logical document structure
- Screen reader compatibility
- WCAG-aligned technical standards
Federal agencies cannot publish image-only PDFs and call it compliant. A scanned document without OCR would be flagged immediately.
While counties like Barry County are governed primarily by Title II of the ADA rather than Section 508, Section 508 sets the national technical baseline for what digital accessibility looks like in practice. Courts and regulators frequently look to WCAG and 508 standards when evaluating whether public entities are meeting their accessibility obligations.
The principle is simple: if the federal government must ensure its documents are readable, searchable, and accessible, state and local governments are expected to provide comparable access under Title II’s effective communication requirement.
Accessibility is not cosmetic.
It is civil rights compliance.
A Question of Priorities
Digital accessibility is not a high-cost innovation project. OCR remediation, proper tagging, and accessible document workflows are routine government functions. Many public entities implement them with standard software tools and modest training.
At the same time, counties regularly allocate significant resources toward outside legal defense and litigation management. Board packets reflect thousands of dollars in legal expenditures tied to grievance responses and related matters. That’s when it becomes a stewardship problem.
If even a fraction of those funds were directed toward proactive accessibility compliance and document remediation, the public record could be searchable, readable, and accessible to all residents.
Accessibility is preventative governance. It reduces risk. It reduces complaints. It reduces exposure. Investing in compliance is almost always less expensive than defending noncompliance.
Why Board Packets Matter
Board packets are not decorative documents. They include:
- Legal expense approvals
- Retained counsel authorizations
- Financial claims
- Grievance responses
- Public comment summaries
- Voting records
These are core governance materials.
If the format prevents searching for terms like “CMDA,” “grievance,” or specific officials’ names, public oversight becomes materially more difficult.
Accessibility is not only about disability compliance. It is about transparency.
A document that cannot be searched cannot easily be audited.
Systemic Pattern, Not One-Off Error
If a single packet were improperly scanned, that would be a clerical issue. If nearly all packets across multiple years are image-only PDFs, that reflects a systemic publication practice.
But again, that’s where distinction really matters.
Patterns suggest institutional process.
Potential County Responses
Barry County may argue:
- Archived content exception
- Administrative burden
- Alternative access upon request
- Ongoing remediation efforts
And yes, those are recognized defenses under ADA compliance frameworks.
But when documents are current, operational, and regularly published, accessibility obligations are at their strongest.
Governance Implications
Digital accessibility is not a cosmetic upgrade.
When Board packets are non-searchable:
- Patterns in legal expenditures are harder to trace
- Grievance histories are harder to track
- Financial approvals require manual page-by-page review
- Public accountability is slowed
That does not prove intent, but it does establish structural opacity.
How to Check If Your County’s Board Packets Are Accessible
Digital accessibility is not abstract. You can test it yourself in under two minutes.
Here’s how:
1. Download a Recent Board Packet
Go to your county’s website and download a recent Board of Commissioners meeting packet or set of minutes.
2. Try to Highlight Text
Open the PDF and attempt to click and drag across a sentence.
- If the text highlights normally, that’s a good sign.
- If the entire page highlights as one big box, it is likely an image-only scan.
3. Use the Search Function
Press Ctrl+F (or Command+F on Mac) and search for a word that appears in the document, such as “motion,” “resolution,” or a commissioner’s last name.
- If results appear instantly, the document likely contains searchable text.
- If nothing appears even though the word is visible on screen, the file may lack an OCR layer.
4. Try Copy and Paste
Select a sentence and paste it into a blank document.
- If readable text appears, that’s proper text encoding.
- If you get nothing or garbled symbols, the PDF may not be accessible.
5. Look at File Size Clues
Extremely large file sizes for relatively short documents often signal high-resolution scanned images rather than properly formatted digital text.
This Really Does Matter
If a document cannot be searched, copied, or read by screen reader software, it may not meet digital accessibility standards under Title II of the ADA.
This affects:
- Residents with visual impairments
- Journalists
- Researchers
- Attorneys
- Anyone trying to audit spending or trace patterns across years
Accessibility is not just about disability compliance. It is about functional transparency.
If your county’s records are image-only scans, that is not a personal grievance. It is a systemic issue, and you do not need to be an expert to verify it.
You just need two minutes and a keyboard.
Notice and Next Steps
Formal notice can be provided to:
- The County ADA Coordinator
- The County Administrator
- The Michigan State Court Administrative Office (if court records are implicated)
- The county’s risk management representatives
Under Title II, once a public entity is notified of an accessibility barrier, it must take reasonable steps to provide access.
If accessible versions are provided upon request, the issue may be remedied quickly.
If access is denied or ignored, the matter shifts from formatting oversight to compliance risk.
Why This Matters
Transparency is not just about what is said in public meetings.
It is about whether the public can meaningfully review the record.
When government documents are published in formats that cannot be searched, navigated, or read by assistive technology, trust erodes. The ADA exists to ensure equal access to government services. Board minutes and packets are government services.
Accessibility is not optional; it’s civil rights law. Full stop. And that’s an area where Barry County is historically shaky on through Court access for individuals with disabilities, and now in one’s ability to participate in government. It’s not a formatting preference. It’s not a UX upgrade.
It’s quite literally equal access to government.
If a county can:
- Retain outside counsel
- Process litigation invoices
- Publish multi-hundred page packets
Then it can most certainly publish searchable PDFs; it’s literally one checkbox.
That’s not radical. That’s baseline governance in 2026.
And here’s the quiet strength in this fight: it’s not about any one person. It’s about anyone who relies on assistive tech. Anyone trying to audit spending. Anyone searching patterns across years of minutes.
I’m not demanding perfection. I’m demanding that the public record be readable.
That’s not a small hill.
That’s the hill democracy stands on.
Sources
- Americans with Disabilities Act, Title II
- U.S. Department of Justice, April 2024 Final Rule on Web and Mobile Accessibility
- WCAG 2.1 Level AA Standards
- Barry County Board of Commissioners Public Packets (multiple years reviewed)
