Sec. 185.10. Local government records management improvement grants

(a) Eligibility criteria.

To be eligible to apply for a grant pursuant to section 57.35 of the Arts and Cultural Affairs Law, a local government shall have:

(1) designated a records management officer in accordance with section 185.2 of this Part. This requirement shall not apply to Bronx, Kings, New York, Queens and Richmond Counties, to municipal housing authorities, to the Utica Transit Authority nor to community school districts located in New York City; and

(2) adopted the applicable records retention and disposition schedule(s) issued by the commissioner pursuant to section 57.25 of the Arts and Cultural Affairs Law and section 185.5 of this Part. This requirement shall not apply to municipal housing authorities, to the Utica Transit Authority nor to community school districts located in New York City.

(b) Applications.

The local government shall submit an application, including a proposed budget, in a form prescribed by the commissioner, and by the dates prescribed by the commissioner.

(c) The commissioner shall award grants to eligible applicants in accordance with the operational and expenditure plan adopted pursuant to section 57.35(4) of the Arts and Cultural Affairs Law and the criteria specified in section 57.35(2) of the Arts and Cultural Affairs Law. In addition, the commissioner shall consider the applicant's commitment to provide ongoing support for records management activities after the grant funding ends.

(d) Types of projects.

Grants awarded in the 1993-4 State fiscal year and thereafter shall include but not be limited to the following activities:

(1) conducting preliminary records surveys and developing plans for use of the results to guide dispositions of records and other aspects of records management program development;

(2) conducting or participating in preliminary needs assessments and/or self-studies;

(3) developing plans for the establishment and/or operation of programs for storing and managing inactive records;

(4) planning the development of innovative information systems, with emphasis on the management of electronic records and retention of information with continuing research value;

(5) developing plans for the establishment and/or operation of local government archival programs;

(6) selectively reformatting records of important value;

(7) selectively reformatting archival records;

(8) preparing guides, indexes and other finding aids to make archival records available to the schools, including institutions of higher education, and the public;

(9) developing and carrying out programs to make copies of archival records available to the schools, including institutions of higher education, and the public;

(10) carrying out innovative projects to study and develop solutions to local governments records management and archival administration problems identified by the New York State Local Government Records Advisory Council; and

(11) carrying out emergency projects to rescue or save endangered records.

(e) Allowable expenditures.

Allowable expenditures for grants shall include:

(1) project-related personnel costs;

(2) the cost of retaining consultants to make studies or prepare reports and/or recommendations;

(3) project-related travel costs, including travel to selected professional conferences and meetings directly related to the project;

(4) the purchase of supplies and materials directly related to the project;

(5) capital expenditures for equipment, including computers, directly needed for the projects;

(6) the cost of producing publications directly related to the projects; and

(7) the cost of contractual services directly needed for the project.