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ADA Compliance Plan and Accessibility Statement

Town of Cedar Lake, Indiana
Last Reviewed: April 6, 2026


Our Commitment to Accessibility

The Town of Cedar Lake is committed to ensuring digital accessibility for people with disabilities. We are continually working to improve the user experience for everyone and to apply the relevant accessibility standards to our website and digital services.

As a municipal government subject to Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, Cedar Lake is committed to ensuring that its programs, services, and activities — including our website — are accessible to individuals with disabilities.

Conformance Status

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) define requirements for designers and developers to improve accessibility for people with disabilities. WCAG 2.1 defines three levels of conformance: Level A (minimum), Level AA (standard), and Level AAA (enhanced).

The Town of Cedar Lake website partially conforms with WCAG 2.1 Level AA. Partial conformance means that some parts of the content do not fully conform to the accessibility standard. We are actively working toward WCAG 2.1 Level AAA as an aspirational target.

Known limitations and exceptions are documented in the “Known Limitations” section of this statement.

Technical Specifications

Accessibility of the Town of Cedar Lake website relies on the following technologies:

  • HTML5
  • CSS3
  • JavaScript
  • WAI-ARIA (Accessible Rich Internet Applications)

The website is built on WordPress using the Neve theme with a child theme for custom modifications. Page layout is managed in part using the default Block Editor and the WPBakery Page Builder.

These technologies are relied upon to ensure compliance with the applicable accessibility standards.

Measures We Are Taking

The Town of Cedar Lake is taking the following measures to ensure accessibility of our website:

  • Including accessibility requirements in our internal technology policies and procurement practices
  • Conducting regular automated accessibility testing using tools, including the WAVE Web Accessibility Evaluation Tool
  • Performing a manual review of web content prior to publication
  • Converting public-facing documents (meeting minutes, agendas, reports) to WCAG-compliant HTML format
  • Providing staff guidance on accessible content creation practices
  • Maintaining a publicly accessible mechanism for reporting website accessibility issues

Known Limitations

Despite our best efforts, some content on the Town of Cedar Lake website may not yet fully conform to WCAG 2.1 Level AA. The following known limitations have been identified:

1. Event Flyer Images

  • Issue: Some calendar events display promotional flyer images that may contain information not fully replicated as accessible text.
  • WCAG Criteria Affected: 1.1.1 Non-text Content, 1.3.1 Info and Relationships
  • Remediation Plan: Staff are advised to include key event details as accessible text on event pages, in addition to any flyer images.

2. Mobile Navigation Menu and Footer Elements (Third-Party Theme Limitation)

  • Issue: The Neve WordPress theme renders both desktop and mobile navigation menus simultaneously in the HTML, hiding the inactive menu via CSS. Additionally, the theme renders duplicate footer widget areas for desktop and mobile display, resulting in non-unique element IDs in the page source. Automated scanning tools may flag duplicate navigation links and duplicate IDs due to this architectural design.
  • WCAG Criteria Affected: 2.4.4 Link Purpose, 4.1.1 Parsing
  • Remediation Plan: All feasible mitigations have been implemented, including applying aria-hidden to the mobile menu when not in use, assigning unique aria-label values to distinguish the two navigation landmarks, and appending unique suffixes to duplicate footer element IDs via JavaScript. The mobile navigation is correctly hidden from assistive technologies at runtime. Full remediation would require modifications to the Neve parent theme’s core files, which are outside the scope of supported customization. This limitation will be re-evaluated if an accessible alternative theme is adopted.

Resolved Issues

The following accessibility issues were identified and resolved as part of our ongoing remediation effort. This record is maintained to document the Town’s good-faith compliance efforts.

1. Homepage Image Slider — Resolved

  • Issue: The homepage image slider lacked keyboard navigation controls, auto-play/pause functionality, and image alternative text.
  • WCAG Criteria Affected: 1.1.1 Non-text Content, 2.1.1 Keyboard, 2.2.2 Pause, Stop, Hide, 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value
  • Resolution: Initial accessibility remediation completed (alt text, ARIA labels, play/pause button). The slider was subsequently removed entirely from the homepage, permanently eliminating all associated accessibility risk.

2. WPBakery Page Builder — Noscript Element — Resolved

  • Issue: WPBakery Page Builder generated a <noscript> element containing inline CSS that was flagged by automated accessibility checkers.
  • Resolution: Resolved via child theme functions.php modification. No longer flagged by WAVE or other automated testing tools.

3. Neve Theme — Mobile Navigation Overlay — Resolved

  • Issue: The Neve theme mobile navigation overlay was rendered as a plain <div> with only a mouse event handler, making it inaccessible to keyboard users and triggering a WAVE device-dependent event handler warning.
  • WCAG Criteria Affected: 2.1.1 Keyboard, 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value
  • Resolution: Resolved via child theme patch adding role=”button”, aria-label, tabindex, and keyboard event handler to the overlay element.

4. Search Form — Missing Label — Resolved

  • Issue: The Neve theme search form lacked a properly associated <label> element, causing WAVE to flag a missing form label error.
  • WCAG Criteria Affected: 1.3.1 Info and Relationships, 3.3.2 Labels or Instructions
  • Resolution: Resolved via a custom searchform.php template in the child theme, which outputs a properly labeled search form with unique IDs for each instance on the page.

5. Accessibility Patch Durability — Child Theme Migration — Resolved

  • Issue: Accessibility patches were previously stored in the parent Neve theme’s functions.php file, making them vulnerable to being overwritten by theme updates.
  • Resolution: A Neve child theme was created, and all accessibility patches were moved to the child theme functions.php and searchform.php, where they are protected from parent theme updates.

6. Event Calendar Heading Structure — Resolved

  • Issue: The previous event calendar plugin generated heading elements that did not always follow a sequential hierarchy, resulting in automated accessibility checker warnings. WCAG Criteria Affected: 1.3.1 Info and Relationships, 2.4.6 Headings and Labels
  • Resolution: The previous calendar plugin was replaced with My Calendar by Joe Dolson, a plugin specifically designed with accessibility as a core feature. Implementation completed April 2026.


Feedback and Contact Information

We welcome feedback on the accessibility of the Town of Cedar Lake website. If you experience any accessibility barriers or if you find content that is not accessible, please let us know.

You may contact us using any of the following methods:

We aim to respond to accessibility feedback within 2 business days. If the issue cannot be resolved promptly, we will provide an accessible alternative to obtain the information or service.


Formal Grievance Procedure


If you are not satisfied with our response to your accessibility feedback, you may file a formal grievance with the Town of Cedar Lake’s ADA Coordinator:

  • ADA Coordinator: Town Manager’s Office, Town of Cedar Lake
  • Address: 7408 Constitution Ave, Cedar Lake, IN 46303
  • Phone: 219-374-7000
  • Email: administrator@cedarlakein.gov

You also have the right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division if you believe you have been discriminated against on the basis of disability. Information about filing a complaint is available at www.ada.gov.


Physical ADA Compliance Plan


This statement addresses web and digital accessibility. The Town of Cedar Lake also maintains a separate Physical ADA Compliance Plan covering accessibility of Town facilities, programs, and in-person services. The Physical ADA Compliance Plan is available for download on the Town Documents page or by contacting the Town Manager’s Office.


Statement Review and Updates

This accessibility statement is reviewed and updated on an ongoing basis as accessibility improvements are made to the website. The date at the top of this document reflects the most recent review.