Commission Receives Grant
The Wetzel County Commission has been awarded a $11,500 grant to provide funding for conservation/restoration of permanent County Clerk records and for preservation microfilming and digital conversion of these records.
It was one of 28 grant awards totalling $304,626 from the Records Management and Preservation Board (RMPB) through its County Records Management and Preservation Grants program. The board reviewed submissions and made its recommendations in January for projects to improve management, storage conditions, access, and preservation of public records held in several county offices. Following official letters announcing the successful grants, RMPB staff began conducting courthouse site visits to provide technical assistance in setting up the grant project, which officially begins with the new fiscal year July 1.
The RMPB, with its continuing interest in addressing records storage and management issues in the courthouses, announced three grant criteria in its invitation to applicants last September. The three criteria were: conduct a total records inventory and condition assessment, and develop a master records management plan for county records; remove non-records and accumulations of records having reached or exceeded required retention periods; and provide proper and improved storage of and access to permanent records or records with required retention periods in excess of 25 years. The latter will include physical storage to provide proper shelving and/or archival records boxes (10″x12″x15″), and security/preservation microfilm, with a digital imaging combination for enhanced access.
Funding for the County Records Management and Preservation Program is from the filing fees collected by county clerks and deposited in the special Public Records and Preservation Revenue Account. The funds serve as an incentive to county officials to improve the management of their public records and conditions for their preservation. The RMPB was created by the West Virginia Legislature in 2000 to develop uniform county records management programs. Its primary focus is to establish guidelines and provide technical assistance to address the needs of the records of county governments through a uniform records management system, and to further encourage adoption of these goals through the county records grant program. For more information about the annual grant program call (304) 558-0230, ext. 165.