Union County recognizes the need for this site to be accessible to as many persons as possible. This includes persons with disabilities and those with differing browsers, processors and access speeds.
Although not required by regulation or law at this time, Union County acknowledges its obligation to provide reasonable access to visitors who require technology assistance or who may have other needs, which may be served through design principles outlined in the Federal Section 508 guidelines.
A. Accessibility Statement
Union County Government is committed to ensuring that its website is accessible to the public. The County’s website periodically undergoes review and redesign as necessary to ensure that the principles of the Section 508 Amendments of the Rehabilitation Act of 1998 are at least acknowledged and pursued so that the website best serves our visitors using assistive technologies. Although only mandated for federal agencies, the County feels that following Section 508 standards and presenting an accessible website best serves the public.
In 1998, Congress amended the Rehabilitation Act to require Federal agencies to make their electronic and information technology accessible to people with disabilities. Inaccessible technology interferes with an individual’s ability to obtain and use information quickly and easily. Section 508 was enacted to eliminate barriers in information technology, to make available new opportunities for people with disabilities, and to encourage development of technologies that will help achieve these goals. The law applies to all Federal agencies when they develop, procure, maintain, or use electronic and information technology. Under Section 508 (29 U.S.C. 794d), agencies must give disabled employees and members of the public access to information that is comparable to the access available to others.
Some files are posted as Adobe Acrobat PDF (Portable Document Format) files. Users with visual disabilities can download free software from Adobe which will make reading PDF files easier by visiting the following link: Adobe Acrobat Reader Accessibility Page.
B. Accessibility Steps Taken
We work on making the Union County website user-friendly and as accessible as possible. While not every need can be anticipated nor every barrier avoided, there are some key issues we’ve tried to address in an effort to maximize accessibility of our site:
- Simple, consistent page layout and standard navigation throughout the site to assist people with learning disabilities and others who may have difficulty following less organized presentations.
- Mandatory white page backgrounds to provide contrast for users with low vision or colorblindness.
- Standard HTML ensuring that site content can be accessed by all browsers.
- Use of ALT tags making alternative text information available for graphical features.
- Smart use of tables, ensuring that tables are formatted so as to be accessible by non-standard browsers.
- Limited use of frames.
- Very Limited use of applets and plug-ins.
C. More About Accessibility
For further information and to learn more about the regulations governing the accessibility of Federal electronic information products, visit the Section 508 pages listed below:
Section 508 home page
United States Access Board
The W3C Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI)
While Union County is committed to making this website accessible to all users, we recognize that there may be pages that might not be accessible. Union County will continue to develop this site with these goals. Users who encounter difficulty during their visit to this website are requested to contact the webmaster describing the nature of the problem and the section where the difficulty was encountered. If you have any comments or suggestions for improvement, please use our contact form or contact renee@uniongov.com
For assistance with accessibility issues, you may also contact the Union County Commissioner’s Office at (706) 439-6000.