Local governments can apply for records grant funds through May 26

BREWSTER – Local governments have until May 26 to apply for state funding through the Washington State Archives to upgrade their records management and retention to allow better response to public records requests.

Brewster Finance Director/City Clerk Misty Ruiz commented at a recent city council meeting about the workload the clerical staff of small municipalities are under to respond to citizen requests for city data. One source Ruiz noted was from college grad students doing research papers using data gathered from city governments.

Since its 2005 inception, LRGP has awarded more than $4 million to hundreds cities, towns, and counties; fire, school, hospital, port, and public-utility districts; transit authorities; and more.

Qualified agencies and entities can apply online at www.sos.wa.gov/archives/RecordsManagement/Local-Records-Grant-Program.aspx. The application form has been revised and simplified to include multiple-choice and short-answer questions for a streamlined grant process.

During the summer, an Archives Advisory Committee of county and city officials and association representatives will review applications and send recommendations to the Office of the Secretary of State. Grant recipients will be announced in mid-August.

“The Local Records Grant Program demonstrates our commitment to helping resource-strapped local governments preserve and protect their vital, irreplaceable records,” said Washington State Archivist Heather Hirotaka. “Records management can be painstaking and challenging work, but what our local governments are able to achieve with the help of these grants is amazing. We are grateful for the opportunity to support their efforts to better manage their records.”

Washington State Archives will host a webinar on sos.wa.gov/archives/recordsmanagement/TrainingSignupForm.aspx?s=1136 on Tuesday, May 16, to help local government agencies and entities prepare their grant applications. A prerecorded version, How to Apply for a Local Records Grant, is available at youtube.com/watch?v=ZgElFzYlOTc.

A division of the Office of the Secretary of State, Washington State Archives collects and preserves the state’s historical records and makes them available to the public, including government agencies, researchers, historians, and journalists. With branches in Bellevue, Bellingham, Cheney, Ellensburg, and Olympia, the State Archives offers access to records for research and records-management education and training for local and state agency staff.

Washington’s Office of the Secretary of State oversees a number of areas within state government, including managing state elections, registering corporations and charities, and governing the use of the state flag and state seal. The office also manages the State Archives and the State Library, documents extraordinary stories in Washington’s history through Legacy Washington, oversees the Combined Fund Drive for charitable giving by state employees, and administers the state’s Address Confidentiality Program to help protect survivors of crime.