Self Evaluation Plan and Transition Plan: Part 9 - Budget and Implementation
Information presented herein can also be found at Corada and the New England Action Guide.
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This is the ninth and final article in a series about Self Evaluation Plan and Transition Plan (SEPTP). Previous parts of this series covered the history of SEPTP, identified who is in charge of the SEPTP at an entity, sent out a public notice, discussed training options for those involved with the SEPTP, covered grievance procedures regarding compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), offered guidance on self-evaluation plans for entities, and discussed transition and action plans. Now it is time to pay for all this and implementation of the SEPTP in Part 9 - Budget and Implementation.
Once the SEPTP self-evaluation, transition plan, and action plan are complete, if requested, the Consultant should provide cost estimates for facility alterations and recommend funding sources for spot improvements and capital improvement projects for inclusion in the budgeting process.
In some cases, the cost of remediation may be unknown due to additional investigation needed that is outside the scope of an ADA SEPTP. Investigation of structural walls, plumbing and other utilities within walls, compliance with plumbing and other codes, etc. are examples of additional investigations that might make estimating costs difficult or impossible as part of the SEPTP. Environmental issues such as mold and asbestos are not covered in a SEPTP.
The budget for ADA installations should cover new facilities and alterations to existing facilities. Prioritizing ADA installations will help avoid complaints and lawsuits in the future. In alterations of existing facilities, prioritizing the cheapest installations first is not the best approach. 2010 ADA Standard 35.151.b.4.iv(B), Alterations, states, “In choosing which accessible elements to provide [in Title II facilities], priority should be given to those elements that will provide the greatest access, in the following order—
(1) An accessible entrance;
(2) An accessible route to the altered area;
(3) At least one accessible restroom for each sex or a single unisex restroom;
(4) Accessible telephones;
(5) Accessible drinking fountains; and
(6) When possible, additional accessible elements such as parking, storage, and alarms.
A similar law applies to Title III facilities.
As with any facility and programs budget, surprises or unknowns will happen. One way to plan for the surprises and unknowns is to withhold 5-10% of the annual budget for ADA installations. This 5-10% can be considered an emergency fund for out-of-sequence requests by people with disabilities, unanticipated maintenance when things break, or for new programs that you are offering in accessible facilities. If you don't need it all, then finish the work that it was originally budgeted to perform, or roll the emergency fund over to the next year. Make sure your authorization for use of this emergency fund is in writing to provide a special budget authority to respond quickly to requests for solutions.
Regarding unknowns, remember every entity, public or private, has an ongoing requirement for barrier removal throughout spaces available for all individuals and reasonable accommodations for employees. These requirements can show up at any time as unanticipated unknowns that require rapid responses.
Be aware of the overall entity budget when choosing a time frame to implement the SEPTP. For example, on a macro level, a city with a $50 million budget surplus but a 30 year implementation schedule for the SEPTP could be criticized for not making timely upgrades to accessibility. On a micro level, remodeling the conference room in city hall or the CEO’s office in a Fortune 500 company, while there are inaccessible toilet rooms down the hall from these rooms, will likely attract criticism as well. Maybe a lawsuit.
Sources of funding for the SEPTP budget could include the general fund initially but also think about sources outside the entity. Support for ADA installations is high among business owners, foundations, the general population (especially with senior citizens), and crowdsourcing. Donations and grants from these groups may be available upon request. Making your ADA projects known to the public may find readily available sources of funds that are looking for a place to put those funds to work. Crowdsourcing is a good source of funding when an emergency happens from something like storm damage or an earth quake.
Other sources of funding include landlords and/or tenants in leased properties, and vendors that your entity works with. For leased properties, whether your entity is the lessee or lessor, funding can sometimes be transferred. If your entity is leasing a facility from a landlord, the landlord is responsible for the ADA compliance as much as your entity. If your entity is leasing part or all of a facility to a tenant, and the tenant alters the facility, the tenant is responsible for ADA compliance within the altered facility. Vendors that your entity uses for supplies and equipment should be put on notice that their products must be compliant with the ADA. If not, they should fund the replacement.
Bartering for leased space can also be a source of funding. Non-profit organizations or tenants may be willing to barter for cheap rent in exchange for services they could provide like Braille printing, captioning, interpreters, or other products/services they might be able to provide inexpensively in order to get the best deal on rented space.
Lastly, advertisement can be another source of funding. Entities may be willing to fund an ADA installation if they are allowed to advertise their entity at the installation. This is especially helpful for services that require annual contracts such as lawn care at an amphitheater. The lawn care company may be willing to reduce their lawn care fees for an advertisement at the amphitheater, and that savings can be rolled into the ADA SEPTP budget.
Part of the budgeting and implementation process will be figuring out who will make the changes to existing facilities. Some work can be performed by a maintenance staff, but probably not all. Some work will be contracted out. Figuring out who on the maintenance staff can do what, is important. Figuring out who wants to do the work is also important. Installers should be willing and able to do the work correctly. If the maintenance staff is not trained and/or knowledgeable about ADA installation requirements, mistakes will be made.
Now that the transition and action plans are complete and a budget is prepared, it is time to forward the SEPTP to the client/entity for consideration and implementation. Common SEPTP project deliverables include, but are not necessarily limited to, the following:
Self-Evaluation Process, including list of items to evaluate and responsible parties
Final Self-Evaluation Report
Draft ADA Position Statement
Draft Grievance Procedures
Public Participation Plan, including any appropriate alternative formats for dissemination to the disability community
Public participation survey
Summary of public participation
Meeting materials
In-person attendance for one public meeting to facilitate public comment
Fillable forms to evaluate programs, policies, and procedures
Inventory of entity’s vertical and pedestrian facilities
Evaluation of representative existing buildings or park facilities
Evaluation of public rights-of-way in defined project area
Table of barriers, methods, cost estimate, schedule, potential funding sources and identification of position responsible for implementation for facilities in the public rights-of-way
Draft Transition Plan including a schedule/plan for removing barriers identified in the facility inventory
An additional In-person attendance at a separate meeting to present findings and recommendations
List of facilities in the public right-of-way
Biweekly communication between Consultant and entity staff
As we have seen in this series of articles, designing and implementing a SEPTP is complicated. The entity may prefer a peer inspection (audit) of the SEPTP before implementation. A second opinion from a knowledgeable source can identify errors and omissions in the SEPTP before implementation begins.
Once the SEPTP is approved, implementation transfers to the work itself. It is recommended that peer inspections of the plans and specifications for new construction and alterations be included in the implementation process. Periodic peer inspections during construction phases of the installation(s) can help catch installation errors before the work is complete. Finally, a thorough inspection for ADA compliance of completed new installations and alterations should be made by a third party before payment is made on the installation.
Similarly, oversite for ADA compliance is highly recommended for the operations, maintenance, and procurement departments of public and private entities. At least one person in each of those departments should be trained and tasked in ADA compliance so they can monitor their staffs on a daily basis.
SEPTPs are living documents/plans that require periodic updating. It is recommended that the SEPTP be audited every three (3) years, or whenever a significant change is adopted for the ADA, or when the entity undergoes changes such as building renovations/modifications/additions, program revisions or additions, or mergers/acquisitions with other entities.
SUMMARY: The budget for ADA installations should cover new facilities and alterations to existing facilities. Prioritizing ADA installations will help avoid complaints and lawsuits in the future. Implementation of the SEPTP should include peer inspections to avoid errors and omissions. This is the last in a series of articles about Self Evaluation and Transition Plans. To return to the first article please see Part 1 - Why Bother?
If you need help building a new SEPTP or auditing your existing SEPTP, please call Richard Acree at 615-752-0060, or email inspections4ada@gmail.com. For additional information please see SEPTP.
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