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Recorder reports large imaging and preservation work funded by perpetuation fees; asks council to weigh transfers carefully
Summary
Recorder Jan described a recent large scanning project and the expense of preserving aging record books; she said some funds can be transferred into the perpetuation account but that those balances could be depleted quickly by major preservation work.
Jan (Recorder, first name used in the hearing) briefed the council on the county’s record-perpetuation activities. She described a recent scanning project that produced over 200,000 images and an additional backlog of older county books that require repair and preservation work.
Jan told the council that binding and repairing a single historic record book can cost several thousand dollars and that her office is exploring options for indexing scanned images so they are visible to the public. She said the recorder’s office has a healthy perpetuation balance at the moment, but that expenditures for preservation and indexing would draw down the fund quickly if several binding projects and indexing runs are authorized.
The recorder also described how certain fees are allocated into specific preservation accounts and noted the office’s practice of returning unused line-item balances to the general fund at year-end. She asked the council to consider appropriation requests early in the next year if the board chooses to proceed with substantive preservation or back-indexing projects.
Councilors asked whether copier lease and some supplies could be charged to perpetuation; the recorder said a portion of such costs is used for preservation activities but that not all office or copier costs properly belong in perpetuation. The council asked the recorder to identify specific preservation projects and estimated costs for future appropriation.
