Grants & Awards: LGRMIF: 2009 Grant Application Materials
Introduction
The Local Government Records Management Improvement Fund (LGRMIF) grants program provides funds to help local governments establish records management programs or develop new program components. It is a competitive program, awarding grants based on the merits of applications. The LGRMIF, created in 1989, consists of fees collected by county clerks and the New York City Register for the recording of selected documents and for the assignment by county clerks of index numbers for certain court cases. The amount of grant funding available depends on the number of documents recorded and index numbers assigned each year. This will vary with the state of the economy (as reflected in housing sales and thus the recording of deeds and mortgages).
The purpose of LGRMIF grants is not to support local government records management programs indefinitely. Local governments are expected to assume primary responsibility for ongoing support of their programs by providing the resources to manage their records on a continuing basis. This is consistent with the 1987 Local Government Records Law (Article 57-A, Arts and Cultural Affairs Law), which requires most local governments to designate a Records Management Officer (RMO) and to develop a records management program.
On average, between 500 and 700 local governments apply each year. To increase their chances of funding, applicants should closely adhere to the application instructions and address the relevant category requirements outlined in this booklet. The State Archives encourages local government officials to attend one of the many LGRMIF grant application workshops held in all regions of the state in the fall.
In addition, the Archives’ Regional Advisory Officers (RAOs) are available to provide technical advice to local governments. Applicants should direct questions regarding applications to the RAOs located in regional offices throughout the state, to the State Archives’ Grants Administration Unit in Albany at (518) 474-6926, or via email to archgrants@mail.nysed.gov. To comply with formal bidding procedures, the State Archives must receive by 19 January 2009 any questions that have not already been addressed in these grants guidelines or the FAQs on the State Archives' website. All questions and their answers will be posted to the New York State Archives website (www.archives.nysed.gov), which will be updated every week. Additional information may be found on the Archives’ website under “Grants and Awards.”