Navigating the Accessibility Frontier: From Fundamentals to Future-Ready Tools using Microsoft’s Digital Platform

Public meetings and public records are foundational to transparency and accountability in county government. At the same time, today’s environment presents new challenges, as public officials and staff navigate heightened civic tension, evolving security risks, and increasing demands for information.

In this webinar, we will explore three interconnected priorities: maintaining safe and orderly public meetings, protecting the personal information of public officials and staff, and safeguarding sensitive resident data - including voter-related records - while continuing to meet legal requirements for public access.

Counties with 50,000 residents or more have until April 24 to meet accessibility guidelines for their websites and social media accounts, while smaller counties have another year.

Counties must prepare for increasingly sophisticated cyber threats, particularly if they still rely on aging technology systems, some decades old, which can make them vulnerable to attacks.

The proposals prioritize children’s online safety, intellectual property rights, establishing risk mitigation and duty of care for AI , and enshrining protections for ratepayers.