Town Halls & Civic Counters
The canonical TinkyTown deployment. Permits, taxes, the registrar, the town clerk, probate — every counter where residents arrive needing to fill out a form they cannot read in a language no one at the desk speaks. West Hartford pilot live; 151 Connecticut towns directed to consider.
From the actual production board running in West Hartford
Real tile labels. Real navigation. Same colors, same emoji, same routing. This is what a resident actually sees when they scan the QR at the town-hall counter today.
Real workflows. Resolved at the counter.
Register to vote without speaking
A new resident with stroke-related aphasia taps Records & Tax → Voter Reg. The board walks them through ID requirements in pictures and bilateral text-to-speech. Clerk gets the structured information at the desk, no relay needed.
120+ languages, both directions
Patron arrives speaking only Brazilian Portuguese. Selects the language splash. Every tile renders in Portuguese; staff replies render in English. Bilateral translation — no phone interpreter delay.
Probate without the panic
A grieving spouse arrives to file probate paperwork. Cannot speak through the grief; the screen does it for them. Town Clerk receives the structured ask, walks them through what they need, schedules the follow-up.
Companion accommodation by default
28 CFR § 35.160(a)(1) extends effective communication to companions. The deaf parent at their child's school enrollment is covered automatically — same workflow, no separate training required.
How TinkyTown closes the town-hall communication gap
The State of Connecticut ADA Officer reviewed the deployment and directed all 151 Connecticut towns to consider it. The product satisfies "effective communication" as defined in 28 CFR § 35.160 across three vectors at the civic counter:
- Multiple methods simultaneously — picture, text, speech-to-speech, multilingual. One device covers deaf, blind, nonverbal, LEP, autism-spectrum, stroke, and cognitive-disability profiles.
- Primary consideration documented — the device offers the patron a choice of language and modality; the staff workflow logs the offer in writing, satisfying 35.160(b)(2).
- Immediate (no 90-second interpreter wait) — for transactional civic interactions, the auxiliary device is the effective aid. Interpreter access remains for extended hearings.
- 20 universal sub-boards inherited free — emergency, accessibility, crisis support. The edge cases the statute doesn't spell out but DOJ enforces against.
Read the regulatory deep-dive: ADA Title II effective communication → · Primary consideration deep-dive →
Bring TinkyTown to your town hall.
$725/month per entity. Includes the town-hall top board, 20 universal sub-boards, 120+ languages, and the documentation pack your ADA officer and insurance carrier ask for at renewal.