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New York Archivists --Our Cultural Education Infrastructure is under attack





-THE TIME TO ACT IS NOW--


My name is Richard Strassberg.  I have been a professional archivist and records manager  working in the State of New York for thirty five years . 
During the last ten years, the citizens of the State of New York have benefited greatly from a grant program funded by a five dollar filing tax collected by county clerks on certain documents  ( such as mortgage filings) that the law requires to be filed.  These revenues go into a statewide fund know as the Local Government Records Management Improvement fund (LGRMIF).  The LGRMIF was created to finance the regional records management technical services provided to local governments and is administered  by the State Archives.

  Most of the progress in making local public records in New York more easily available and in funding the preservation older historical records  in local repositories the last decade is due to LGRMIF, a widely popular, well-known and trusted program of regionally based technical services and grants for local governments. This program consistently rates in the top tenth percentile in customer satisfaction surveys. This is also the fund that pays for the roughly 500 local government records management grants awarded every year.  It also provides $500,000 out of its revenues to support the State's Documentary Heritage grant funding project.

Governor Pataki's 2002-03 budget proposes to  remove the Office of Cultural Education (OCE), which includes the State Archives, Museum, Library, and Public Broadcasting, from the State Education Department and incorporate them into a Public Benefit Corporation named the New York Institute for Cultural Education (NYICE).NYICE would be funded entirely by the LGRMIF.

In order to finance NYICE the Governor's Budget proposes to quadruple the current $5 LGRMIF fee to $20.  Not only would this not add one penny to grants available for local governments or to private archival repositories through the Documentary Heritage Program, this proposal would remove $600,000 currently available for grants in order to cover administrative and overhead expenses currently provided by non-LGRMIF monies of the SED. .
 
Reasons for opposing the removal of OCE from the State Education Department are explained below, followed by a sample resolution and contact information for pertinent government officials



The Governor's proposal would have a profoundly negative  affect on the grants program. For instance, the loss of that $600,000 would mean that somewhere between 35 and 75 annually awarded grants possible under the present structure would be unavailable every year hereafter. All local governments, including large and small towns, villages, cities, fire districts and school districts would feel the pinch of this loss.



Besides the loss of grant dollars, there are two other critical concerns:

First, the governing board of NYICE would serve at the pleasure of elected officials in both the executive and legislative branches of the State government.  There is no definition of the roles of the State Historical Records Advisory Board nor of Local Government Records Advisory Council (LGRAC) as they might relate to the NYICE. These are currently appointed boards, the former by the Governor, the latter by the Commissioner of Education. The LGRAC has had a strong and participatory part in the development of State Archives grants and services for local governments and mainly is composed of leadership persons from local and state government and from key local government associations. It is unclear if the programs of grants and regionally based technical services would operate as they do now.

Second, the current sunset provision for the LGRMIF would not be eliminated under this proposal, meaning that the entire State Archives, Museum, and Library would be on the chopping block every five years. In all this would affect some 400 employees and the valuable collections that they manage, the considerable array of consultative, expert services that they offer state and local government, and the educational programs that they offer to the public at large.   Given the uncertainties of budget as related to the sunset provision, the varying revenue paid into the LGRMIF, and the potential inconsistency of the proposed board, any long-range planning for the provision of better services, for institutional development or to realize long-range efficiencies and economies are out the window. The planning cycle would be at best five years and more likely from election to election.

SED is opposing this proposal along with many other organizations including the New York State Association of Counties, the Association of County Clerks, and the New York State School Board Association.  The opposition to the proposal has been EXTREMELY BIPARTISAN.  This is not so much a political issue as an issue of protecting a widely popular program, staffed by non-partisan civil service professionals who serve the local governments and the residents of New York State fairly and effectively.

SO WHAT CAN YOU DO TO HELP?

 New York historians and archivists should encourage their  local governments to pass resolutions against this proposal and send copies to key members of the Legislature as well as writing themselves to these individuals.  Below is a sample resolution for your local government's use with the names and addresses of key officials and leaders in the Assembly and Senate.  Also, individual letters to your local State Senator and Assembly Member voicing your concern would be helpful. WE NEED TO MOVE AS QUICKLY AS WE CAN IN THIS MATTER


RESOLUTION AGAINST THE PROPOSED INCREASE IN THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT RECORDS MANAGEMENT IMPROVEMENT FUND

WHEREAS, The Governor has proposed to remove certain offices overseeing Cultural Education from the New York State Education Department, incorporating these in an entirely new Institute for Cultural Education; and

WHEREAS, in order to fund this Institute; including the State Archives, State Library, State Museum and State Office for Public Broadcasting, New York State will need to raise millions of dollars in capital investment and plans to do this by quadrupling the present five dollars collected by all County Clerks and the Register of the City of New York on all recorded, indexed and entered documents to twenty dollars, effective July 1, 2002; and

WHEREAS, the Local Government Records Management Improvement Fund was created in 1989 to support grants and technical assistance to local governments to improve and enhance the management of their records and information, and

WHEREAS, said fee increase would provide no improvement in service for the taxpayers paying the fee, nor any additional benefits to the local governments that must collect said fee increase; and

WHEREAS, no demonstrated benefit has been identified in the relocation of these functions to the proposed Institute, in contrast to the highly effective and beneficial relationship that local governments now enjoy with the New York State Education Department; now be it hereby


RESOLVED, by the (name of association, local government or other entity), that this body stands firmly opposed to this proposal; and be it further

RESOLVED, that a copy of this resolution be delivered to the Governor, the New York State Legislature and all others deemed necessary and proper, and we urge them to likewise oppose this proposal.

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PLEASE CONTACT THESE KEY OFFICIALS AND REGISTER YOUR PROTEST TO THIS INITIATIVE
Honorable George Pataki
Governor
New York State
The Executive Chamber
State Capital
Albany, NY 12224
http://www.state.ny.us/governor/

Hon . Sheldon Silver
Speaker of the House
250 Broadway
Suite 2307
New York, NY 10007
212-312-1420
 
ALBANY OFFICE
LOB 932
Albany, NY 12248
518-455-3791
speaker@ assembly.state.ny.us

Senator Joseph L. Bruno
NY Senate Majority Leader
909 Legislative Office Building
Albany, NY 12247
bruno@senate.state.ny.us



Hon. Ronald B. Stafford
Chair, Senate Finance Committee
New York State Senate
501 State Capitol Building
Albany, NY 12248

Hon. John R. Kuhl, Jr.
Chair, Senate Education Committee
New York State Senate
310 Legislative Office Building
Albany, NY 12248

Hon. Steven Sanders
Chair, Assembly Education Committee
New York State Assembly
LOB 836
Albany, NY 12248

Hon. Herman D. Farrell Jr.
Chair, Assembly Ways and Means Committee
New York State Assembly
LOB 923
Albany, NY 12248


Thank you for your interest