Townsend told to prepare: digital‑accessibility deadline, legal fines discussed

Townsend commissioners were warned at their Sept. 24 meeting that state and federal accessibility rules for digital content and live meeting captioning are becoming enforceable and that municipalities have a limited window to prepare.

Ralph DeChico of the Massachusetts Office on Disability told the commission the compliance date for Townsend was “04/26/2028,” and said that after compliance deadlines take effect, civil‑rights enforcement could follow. DeChico also testified, in the meeting record, that fines discussed at the seminar the presenters attended “start out at 75,000 to a 100,000” per instance — a level he characterized as sizable enough to make compliance a fiscal priority for small towns.

Commissioners and presenters discussed the kinds of services that will be needed to reduce exposure: near‑real‑time transcription (scribing), closed captioning for posted videos, assistive listening systems for meeting venues and ASL interpreters when required. Town leaders said they will compile a prioritized list of “must‑have” technologies and seek grant and intergovernmental options to fund purchases well before the cited compliance date.