Franklin, TN — June 29, 2026 — The City of Franklin today announced that it has made thousands of public pdf documents on www.franklintn.gov more accessible to residents through DocAccess by CivicPlus. The initiative includes current and archived content, giving the public easier access to materials such as council meeting agendas, minutes, budgets, strategic plans, and other important city records.

With growing awareness of digital accessibility and as more residents expect to interact with their government online, Franklin chose to act now rather than wait. The Americans with Disabilities Act has required state and local governments to provide equal access to programs and services since 1990, and the City said this work reflects a commitment to residents who may rely on screen readers, need help reading a document on a phone, or are supporting an aging parent and trying to find information quickly.

The new document experience is designed to meet the widely accepted WCAG 2.1 Level AA standard and includes an interactive outline for fast navigation, AI-powered search and question-and-answer tools, and “Ask a Question” support that lets residents ask plain-language questions and get instant answers grounded in the document. Residents can also translate content in 250+ languages, access documents on mobile devices even when the original file is handwritten or scanned and use full keyboard navigation with assistive technologies such as screen readers.

“Our residents should be able to easily find the information they need on our website,” said Eric Stuckey, City Administrator for the City of Franklin. “This was about doing the right thing for our community and making City information easier to access for everyone — whether someone is reading on a laptop, on a phone, or using assistive technology.”

Franklin’s rollout also includes 24/7 live visual interpretation through Aira.io at no cost to the public, along with English and Spanish support from both internal human-in-the-loop reviewers and external accessibility experts. New analytics tools will also help city staff see which documents generate the most interest, which questions residents ask most often, and which languages are being used, supporting more data-informed transparency.

Privacy and security remain central to the program. Franklin’s DocAccess environment uses request-scoped processing, does not permit AI model training on city content, and collects only aggregated, de-identified usage data. No IP tracking, behavioral profiling, or cross-site tracking is used.

The City said the new platform on the city's website will help staff continue improving how public information is published and maintained, while keeping accessibility at the center of its digital services.

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