Current through Register Vol. 51, No. 3, September 1, 2024
RELATES TO: KRS Chapter 171
NECESSITY, FUNCTION, AND CONFORMITY: KRS 171.450(2) requires
that the department shall enforce the provisions of KRS 171.410 through 171.740
by promulgation of administrative regulations. KRS 171.520 requires the
department to establish the policies and principles to be followed by state and
local agencies in the conduct of their records management programs, to ensure
the maintenance and security of records deemed appropriate for preservation, to
facilitate the segregation and disposal of records of temporary value and to
promote the effective and economical use of space, equipment, and supplies
needed for the purpose of creating, maintaining, and servicing records. KRS 171.520 authorizes the department to administer and grant any money
appropriated to it for providing and improving records management programs of
state and local agencies. This administrative regulation establishes uniform
policies for the administration of grants to local governments for the
improvement of records management programs.
Section
1. Eligibility of Applicants. Any local government office
interested in improving the management and preservation of its public records
may apply for a grant under the local records program by completing the Local
Records Program Grant Application. For the purposes of this program, a local
government office shall constitute a "public agency" as defined by KRS 61.870(1).
Section 2. Application
Procedures. All applications shall be submitted on the Local Records Program
Grant Application and include a detailed project description, plan of work, and
budget request. Supporting documentation, such as the Invitation for Bid
Proposal are established in the Local Records Program Grant Guidelines. Entries
on the application form and any required supporting documents shall be typed
and completed as fully as possible, with additional sheets attached if
necessary. In signing the application and in accepting a grant award,
applicants agree, in carrying out their projects, to abide by the criteria
established in this administrative regulation.
Section 3. Categories for Funding. Any
project to improve the management and preservation of local public records
shall be considered. Categories for funding include, for example:
(1) Security microfilming vital (critical for
the functioning of the office) or historically significant records following
the standards and procedures in Microfilming and Digital Imaging of Public
Records: A Procedural Guide. Security microfilming carried out with local
records grant funds must be done through a micrographics laboratory or vendor
certified according to the criteria established in the Microfilming and Digital
Imaging of Public Records: A Procedural Guide and officially recognized by the
State Libraries, Archives, and Records Commission. A list of the names of
currently certified laboratories or vendors may be obtained from the
department's web site (
https://kdla.ky.gov/records/recmgmtservices/Pages/LocalRecordsProgramGrants.aspx);
(2) Rerecording projects, for rerecording
damaged records or records now losing their image, using archivally acceptable
methods of recording on paper or microfilm;
(3) Document preservation projects, to carry
out preservation or conservation measures on endangered records of major
historical significance;
(4)
Purchasing document conservation supplies;
(5) Establishing a local government records
management program or archives. This may include hiring or partially
subsidizing the salary of a qualified archivist who will work with department
personnel in initiating a specific, time-limited project. Requests for salary
support shall be evaluated based on this administrative regulation. These funds
are not designed for ongoing support, and they shall not be used to replace
salary funds already being expended by the local government. They may be used
as short-term salary supplements;
(6) Arranging and describing archival
holdings, according to generally accepted professional standards of records
management and archival theory and practice;
(7) Purchasing supplies and equipment that
promote preservation of or access to archival materials, including acid-free
boxes and folders, shelving, and cabinets; and
(8) Codification of ordinances for cities and
counties, according to procedures in Policy Memorandum on Approved Codification
Services Vendors and Codification Grant Applicants/Recipients. Funds shall be
available for production of initial codes but not for code
supplements.
Section 4.
Grant Award Periods. Grants shall be awarded on a state fiscal year
basis.
Section 5. Grant Review and
Evaluation. Applications shall be reviewed by the Local Records Grant Review
Committee and ranked recommendations shall be presented to the State Libraries,
Archives, and Records Commission. The State Libraries, Archives and Records
Commission shall make the final decision on grant awards using the criteria
established in Section 5 of this administrative regulation.
Section 6. Grant Review Criteria. In
reviewing applications and recommending the funding of specific projects,
reviewers judge the projects by criteria, which includes:
(1) Urgency of the problem, such as
significance and age of the records. The commission and other evaluation groups
shall consider first local government applicants with critical records problems
and to those with older records and with chronologically complete groupings of
records;
(2) Value as a model and
type for size and geographical location of the local government. The program
shall promote equity in the geographic distribution of grant projects. The
program shall include projects in various types and sizes of local governments,
with a major goal to provide model projects in all areas of the
state;
(3) Soundness of the
proposed methods. The methods of handling the records shall conform to
generally accepted professional standards of records management and archival
theory and practice;
(4) Commitment
of local government resources to the project. The commission and other
evaluation groups shall give preference to local governments that commit some
local resources to the proposed projects. Support may take the form of adequate
office, storage, or working space; personnel; supplies; equipment; or a
monetary contribution. Evidence of previous concern or commitment of support to
improved local records management and preservation shall also be important
factors in the reviewers' evaluation;
(5) Commitment by the local government to
maintain the program or the lasting benefit of a specific project. This may
include provisions for maintaining the accuracy and currency of a grant-funded
code of ordinances with annual supplements, providing adequate storage space,
designating of a person or persons responsible for maintaining and adding to a
local archives, adhering to all standards for archival microfilming, or being
willing to assume the cost of future security microfilming of relevant
records;
(6) Adequate security and
protection of records. Local governments shall:
(a)
1.
House records in secure, fire-resistant facilities; or
2. State how the proposed project will
safeguard the records in question.
(b) Applicants shall comply with KRS 171.710
regarding the safeguarding of public records;
(7) Compliance with all legal requirements
regarding custody and public access. This shall include complying with the
requirements of the state's Open Records Law (KRS 61.870-876) and providing
access to the general public in an area with proper security and supervision;
and
(8) Commitment by the local
government to a comprehensive records management program. This shall include
regular legal disposition of records in accordance with the records retention
schedules covering the records of a local government agency, and may also
include files control, segregation of inactive or noncurrent material from
active files, selective microfilming (where appropriate), and training of
records personnel in records management techniques.
Section 7. Informal Appeals.
(1) An applicant aggrieved by a decision of
the State Libraries, Archives and Records Commission may file an informal
appeal with commissioner of the department.
(2) Procedures.
(a) A formal letter of appeal shall be sent
via email or postal mail to the commissioner of the department within three (3)
working days of receipt of notice of rejection.
(b) The appeal shall include a brief
description of why the applicant believes the decision of the State Libraries,
Archives, and Records Commission is in error. The appeal shall be based solely
upon alleged error by the State Libraries, Archives, and Records Commission.
New information shall not be submitted with the appeal.
(c) The commissioner of the department shall
make decision within two (2) working days of receipt of letter of
appeal.
Section
8. Local governments that are awarded grants shall enter into a
grant contract with the department. The grant shall establish performance and
reporting requirements. Failure to fulfill the requirements shall result in the
return of the grant to the department.
Section
9. Selection of Codification Services Vendors. The department, in
approving established codification services vendors to participate in
codification work funded with local records grants, shall ensure that basic
criteria and professional standards are met. Criteria such as the following
shall be used as essential measures to approve prospective codification
services vendors:
(1) Corporate stability or a
history of reliable service, preferably to client governments in
Kentucky;
(2) Experienced legal and
editorial staff conversant with local government law and the technical and
editorial requirements to be met in producing accurate, usable codes of
ordinances;
(3) Access to online
statutory databases; and[
(4) [(5)]
The ability to provide code supplement services on a continuing
basis.
Section 10.
Codification Services Vendor Applications from prospective codification
services vendors shall be reviewed by the State Libraries, Archives, and
Records Commission using the criteria established in Section 9 of this
administrative regulation.
Section
11. Incorporation by Reference.
(1) The following material is incorporated by
reference:
(a) "Local Records Program Grant
Application", October 2021;
(b)
"Invitation for Bid Proposal", October 2021;
(c) "Local Records Program Grant Guidelines",
November 2021;
(d) "Microfilming
and Digital Imaging of Public Records: A Procedural Guide", January
2010;
(e) "Policy Memorandum on
Approved Codification Services Vendors and Codification Grant
Applicants/Recipients, PM 2021-11", November 2021; and
(f) "Codification Services Vendor
Application", December 2021.
(2) This material may be inspected, copied,
or obtained, subject to applicable copyright law, at the Kentucky Department
for Libraries and Archives, 300 Coffee Tree Road, Frankfort, Kentucky 40601,
Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
STATUTORY AUTHORITY: KRS 171.450(2),
171.520
