CUSTOM SOFTWARE FOR TOWNS, COUNTIES, AND PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS
Rented public software breaks the same way: hard to use, hard to change, out of compliance. We build the replacement for the towns and counties big vendors price out. Fixed scope, plain-language contract, accessible from the first commit.
Free homepage accessibility look. No pitch attached. If we’re not the right fit, we’ll say so in the first reply.
SENIOR-LED, START TO FINISH · FIXED PRICE OR WRITTEN CEILING · YOU OWN EVERYTHING AT HANDOFF
FOUNDER EXPERIENCE
Ask, and we’ll send the founder’s work history and references.
QA & ACCESSIBILITY
WCAG 2.2 AA from the first commit. The Title II rule is already in force for larger communities; April 2027 for the rest. Test suite and audit results are deliverables you keep.
REMOTE-FIRST
Phoenix, AZ metro · available nationwide.
DIRECT ACCESS
No account managers. You talk to the engineer building your system — messages answered within two business days.
01 — SERVICES
Every scope is written in plain language and priced before work starts. Your purchasing office and council can read it too. If your project fits under a small-purchase threshold, we'll tell you.
Internal tools, workflow systems, and integrations built around how your staff works.
INCLUDED
A portal your staff can update without a support ticket. Fast, accessible, built for the team that inherits it.
INCLUDED
Apps for field staff and residents — built once for iOS and Android, kept easy to maintain.
INCLUDED
DOJ’s Title II rule puts government web content on a WCAG 2.1 AA clock. Deadlines: April 2026 (now in force) and April 2027 (details: §03). We audit and remediate to WCAG 2.2 AA, mapped to the rule’s 2.1 AA requirements.
INCLUDED
We rescue and stabilize the systems you depend on. That includes the ones a departed vendor, a lapsed contract, or an acquired platform left behind. When we host or maintain your systems, uptime targets and response times go in the contract. Sized to the service — not a generic 99.99% promise.
INCLUDED
Not sure which of these you need? Email us — we'll tell you, even if the answer is 'none.'
02 — METHOD
The same shape whether it's a permit portal or a records system. Timeboxed, written down, and visible to you from week one.
PHASE 01 — DISCOVER · 1–2 WEEKS
Before proposing anything, we learn the institution: staff capacity, obligations, procurement rules, existing systems, bid thresholds.
YOU GET
PHASE 02 — PROTOTYPE · 1–3 WEEKS
A clickable prototype of the riskiest flows, tested on real tasks. Nobody approves a system they've only read about.
YOU GET
PHASE 03 — BUILD · 4–10 WEEKS
Weekly written progress you can forward as-is, plus a staging link live from day one. Tests run on every change; accessibility is checked continuously, not at the end.
YOU GET
PHASE 04 — VERIFY & HAND OFF · 1–2 WEEKS
Accessibility audit, measured launch. You own everything: code, content, accounts, documentation. Data exports come in open formats, ready for records requests.
YOU GET
Already know what needs fixing? Email us.
03 — WHY PUBLIC SECTOR
A town of 9,000 carries the same obligations as a city of 900,000, with a fraction of the budget. Template platforms and enterprise consultancies both price that gap out. We exist inside it.
WORKING WITH PROCUREMENT
W-9, registration, insurance, and references: current status goes out with any quote — you won't have to chase paperwork.
Formal RFP or informal quote — both welcome. Fixed-fee scopes sized to RFQ and small-purchase thresholds where appropriate — never split to dodge bid rules.
Plain-language proposals, assumptions stated — ready to forward as-is to a manager, purchasing office, or council. Need one sentence for the meeting? “A senior-led team builds it. We own everything at the end. The price fits under our bid threshold.”
Why now: the Title II deadline is already in force for larger communities; April 2027 is next. A fixed-fee audit fits under most informal-quote thresholds — the smallest first step. Email us and start with the audit.
Not ready for a project? Send us your homepage URL and we’ll reply with a plain-language snapshot — what’s passing, what’s at risk under the rule, and what to fix first. Free. No pitch attached.
W.01
The person who writes the proposal leads the build and handles client email. Senior collaborators join when scope requires it. No account managers, no work handed to junior staff. If your lead engineer is ever unavailable, you still hold everything. Documented architecture, a running test suite, and a repository you own.
W.02
The DOJ’s Title II rule requires WCAG 2.1 AA. In force since April 2026 for larger communities. April 2027: smaller entities and special district governments. We build and test to WCAG 2.2 AA from the first commit — no pre-launch retrofit. WCAG 2.2 AA meets or exceeds the rule’s standard.
W.03
When the scope is clear, you get a fixed price. When it isn’t, we set a written maximum you approve before work starts. We report spending weekly. Many projects fit under your formal-bid threshold — we’ll tell you if yours does.
W.04
Engagements run from a few thousand dollars for a fixed-fee audit to six figures for a full build. Three shapes: fixed-fee audit, fixed-scope build, monthly maintenance plan. If yours falls outside that range, we say so in the first reply.
WHAT EVERY AUDIT COVERS — WORKING CHECKLIST (EXCERPT)
DEMONSTRATIONPERCEIVABLE
OPERABLE
UNDERSTANDABLE
ROBUST
An excerpt of the working checklist — toggle it. We run it on this site and re-run it before client handoff.
04 — WORK
The proof is built, not described. Two demonstration systems for fictional municipalities: a county portal and a clickable permit flow. Everything is labeled. Nothing is stored.
Behind the specimens: senior production experience from the founder's engineering career. Ask, and we'll send backgrounds and references before your evaluation starts.
County government runs on records, meetings, and payments — so this specimen embraces that density instead of hiding it.
ROLE — DESIGN
SCOPE — HOMEPAGE, SERVICE DIRECTORY, MEETINGS + ALERT PATTERNS
SUBJECT — FICTIONAL 'MERIDIAN COUNTY'
Click through it: the whole flow runs in your browser, on mock data, and nothing is stored. A working resident-services application in a modern lagoon-teal identity.
ROLE — DESIGN + BUILD
SCOPE — 4-STEP FLOW, VALIDATION, LIVE FEE ESTIMATE, STATUS TIMELINE
SUBJECT — FICTIONAL 'CITY OF MERIDIAN'
Both specimens are fictional municipalities — demonstrations, not client work. CLIENT WORK JOINS THIS PAGE UNDER THE SAME LABELS. THE SITE ITSELF IS THE PROOF.
Want this standard on your system? Email us.
Townhall Digital
A SENIOR-LED ENGINEERING PRACTICE
PHOENIX, ARIZONA METRO
AVAILABLE NATIONWIDE
05 — ABOUT
We're small by design: direct access to the engineer doing the work. No account layer, no handoffs to a bench.
Every engagement ships with automated tests, written accessibility findings, and documentation meant to be used.
We exist for the institutions big vendors price out — and we compete by out-building them, not out-claiming them.
MISSION
Make public software boring in the best way: forms submit, pages read clean, data exports, and the next maintainer is not stuck reverse-engineering our work.
R.01NO DEMO THEATER
If we show it, it is labeled. If we claim it, we measured it — or we say we have not yet.
R.02ONE ACCOUNTABLE ENGINEER
The person in the meeting is the person in the repo.
R.03ACCESS IS NOT A PHASE
Keyboard, screen reader, contrast, and plain language are checked before we mark it done.
R.04WE HAND OVER THE KEYS
Your repo, your data, your documentation, your exit.
FULL DISCLOSURE
Independent practice, by choice. Pricing reflects a small practice's overhead — not a small practice's standards. We share the founder's name, background, and references with serious inquiries and in any formal evaluation.
Serious inquiry? Start with an email.
06 — CONTACT
Send a homepage URL for a free, plain-language accessibility look: what's passing, what's at risk under Title II, and what to fix first. No pitch attached. Or tell us what you're trying to build. If we're not the right fit, we'll say so.
We reply within two business days.
LOCATION
Phoenix, Arizona metro — available nationwide
REPLIES WITHIN TWO BUSINESS DAYS
W-9 · REGISTRATION · INSURANCE · REFERENCES — STATUS ON REQUEST
Step 1 of 4 — Project type
Specimen — fictional “City of Meridian” · runs in your browser · mock data, nothing is submitted or stored