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Walker County adopts fees to fund clerk's records preservation and digitization plan
Summary
The county approved a county-clerk statutory fee and archive fee after a multi-year preservation effort presentation; clerk said the fees will fund digitization and restoration without raising the tax rate.
Walker County commissioners approved a county-clerk statutory records fee and archive fee on Monday after a presentation outlining a multi-year plan to preserve and digitize the county's historical records. The vote passed with no recorded opposition.
The clerk told commissioners that the office has roughly $840,000 in combined retained funds for preservation projects and that the fees are authorized by state law. "Our ultimate goal is to digitize all of our records," Kier, County Clerk, said, adding the plan will reduce handling of fragile originals and make documents more accessible to the public.
The clerk's office presented a history of records custody and preservation work dating to handwritten records from the 1840s, a conversion to microfilm in the 1960s and more recent digital efforts. The presentation summarized current inventory across paper, microfilm and partial digital holdings and described an archive account and records management fund that already hold the majority of requested project money. Kier said some books will be sent off for conservation and that the office expects the work could take three to four years to complete under current staffing.
Commissioners discussed the legal authority for the fees the clerk cited: Local Government Code 118.025 (county clerk archives fee), Health and Safety Code 191.0045 (vital statistics charge), and Local Government Code 118.0216 (records management fee). The clerk explained the Local Government Code permits counties to adopt a preservation fee of up to $10 on certain recordings and that the vital statistics fee is limited to $1 by state law.
The court approved the fees and a related copier replacement and technology funding request (a lease was later discussed separately). The clerk said the fee revenues would not affect the county tax rate and would be used to avoid repeated requests to the commissioners for funding.
The action now allows the clerk's office to continue scheduled preservation and digitization work and to use retained fund balances as the county and clerk prioritize restoration projects.
Ending: The clerk said the funds will be spent on a combination of in-house digitization and targeted conservation work and that the office will return to court with specific project contracts as restoration work is planned.
