How Jacksonville Beach Made 1,500+ Documents Accessible in 15 Minutes With DocAccess

1,500+ PDFs and a Compliance Deadline Ahead

When new Department of Justice (DOJ) rules clarified accessibility requirements for digital content, the City of Jacksonville Beach faced a major risk. Hundreds of PDFs lived on the city website with no accessibility management system in place. These documents included large agenda packets and budget materials that were difficult, time-consuming, and expensive to remediate manually.

As the city’s Legal Assistant and ADA Coordinator, Elise Brosch understood the stakes. Improving compliance with WCAG standards was not optional, but the city lacked the staff, time, and budget to remediate documents one by one. With more than 1,500 PDFs across city-owned and third-party domains, manual remediation would have required full-time resources the city simply did not have.

Automated Accessibility That Just Works

Jacksonville Beach selected DocAccess to provide an automated, scalable way to deliver accessible document experiences without forcing staff to change how they publish content.

Implementation took less than 15 minutes. City staff added a small piece of code, and DocAccess immediately began scanning the website for documents. The platform automatically detected PDFs and instantly generated accessible versions aligned to WCAG 2.1 AA standards.

DocAccess also integrated seamlessly with the city’s existing CivicPlus solutions, Municipal Websites and Agenda and Meeting Management, as well as their internal employee intranet. Staff and residents could search, read, and interact with documents seamlessly, with accessibility support working quietly in the background.

Accessibility Confidence with Minimal Effort

With DocAccess in place, Jacksonville Beach significantly reduced its accessibility risk while avoiding costly manual remediation. The city has enhanced document accessibility across more than 1,500 PDFs, including large agenda packets and internal policy documents.

Staff quickly noticed added value beyond compliance. Employees began using features like the built-in “Ask a Question” tool to navigate long and complex documents, such as the city’s procurement manual. This improved usability without requiring training or workflow changes.

By working toward alignment with DOJ guidance and WCAG standards, Jacksonville Beach is taking a proactive step to help reduce accessibility-related risk.

Building a Sustainable Accessibility Strategy

As part of its broader accessibility strategy, Jacksonville Beach plans to reduce reliance on PDFs by shifting more content into accessible web forms. DocAccess provides a strong foundation for their overall strategy, supporting accessibility today and into the future.

For Jacksonville Beach, DocAccess delivered exactly what the city needed: confidence in compliance, mitigation of risk, and an effortless experience for staff and residents alike.