AGENCY RESPONSE
Wyoming
Department of State Parks & Cultural Resources
Director's Office
Barrett Building
2301 Central Ave.
Cheyenne, WY 82002
(307) 777-6303
FAX (307) 777-6005
May 1, 2000
Senator Jim Twiford, Chairman
Management Audit Committee
Dear Senator Twiford:
The Department of State Parks and Cultural Resources
greatly appreciates the efforts by the staff of the Legislative Services Office
to assess the conditions and issues confronting the State Archives. It is our fervent hope that attention to the
issues raised in this report will provide the impetus for improving the state's
records management system in a manner which is not only cost efficient, but
serves to more effectively provide quality services to the public and
governmental entities. The report
highlights a number of different issues which we recognize merit attention. While we are not sure that the report has
provided the answer to all the issues and problems facing the state, we feel it
has raised legitimate issues and recommendations which merit further discussion
and action. The report has provided
excellent guidance for possible statute revisions as well as justification for
further budgetary support for the program.
The following are the agency's responses to each
recommendation included in the report.
Recommendation:
WSA should focus on developing its electronic records program.
Agree. Management of electronic and paper records
is an incredibly complex issue requiring increased levels of support and
attention by the department and state and local government entities. Attention to this issue of is paramount
importance. Prior to resolution of this
issue, the legislative and executive branches of government must reach a
consensus as to the mission and function of the Wyoming State Archives. Is the State Archives primarily an
administrative, records storing vault for state government, for state and local
government or should it focus more closely on providing services to the general
public? These issues must be determined
to successfully develop an electronic and paper records management system. Executive Order 1999-4, dated December 23,
1999 and issued by Governor Geringer was a critical first step in the
development of an electronic records management system.
Recommendation:
WSA should seek temporary funding to develop and implement a comprehensive
training program.
Agree. The department will investigate the potential
for increasing funding to develop and implement a comprehensive training
program through grants and partnerships.
A supplementary budget request may also be submitted in order to meet
this identified need.
Recommendation:
WSA should develop a plan to strategically use and financially support
micrographics.
Agree. The re-appointment of the State Historic
Records Advisory Board (SHRAB) should help provide the impetus for the
development of such a plan. SHRAB
members can provide guidance for the development of procedures and statute
revision necessary to most effectively provide support for micrographics
services.
Recommendation:
The Legislature should consider reviewing WSA's statutory responsibility for
government records.
Agree. This issue is central to most of the
problems confronted by WSA. WSA is
statutorily directed to be Aeverything for everybody@, but lacks the staffing
and financial supports to fulfill these responsibilities in a truly effective
manner. Full consideration of these complex
issues and the development of a consensus direction would be helpful for both
state and local government agencies.
Recommendation:
WSA should reassess its approach to providing records services to free
resources for other needs.
Agree. A careful assessment of records services
should be accomplished on a regularly scheduled basis. Changing needs of agencies, technological
innovations, administrative directions and other factors suggest periodic
redirection of efforts may be in order.
Such an assessment must be done in conjunction with affected
governmental entities and involve consideration for the implication of such
actions on both the WSA and the agencies served. SHRAB, along with state and local government and the legislature
can serve a central role in the consideration of this issue and its
implications.
Recommendation:
The WSA should evaluate current staff assignments.
Partially
Agree. While we feel
that staff assignments have been made to most judiciously serve the program
needs, we cannot refute the basic value of an evaluation of these assignments
to assure the most efficient level of service for the public.
Recommendation:
WSA should evaluate maintaining its historical records collection.
Agree. An investigation and evaluation of the
historical records collections is merited in order to insure the most effective
and efficient manner for the collections in question. A heightened working relationship between the American Heritage
Center and the WSA should be pursued to fully explore the potential and
determine policies for care and management of public records and
collections.
Conclusion:
The majority of the problems identified within the
Legislative Services Office Program Evaluation for WSA relate to the general
lack of attention and interest in the subject over the course of many
years. from department management,
agency commissioners, local government officials, state agency directors,
various Governor's and the Wyoming State Legislature. All are culpable.
Archives issues are not of great general interest
because they involve the minutiae of government. This is the paperwork everyone complains about. It is the physical manifestation of the
bureaucracy of government that most people loathe.. Because of that, issues
related to records management are easily ignored or put off for another
time. Unfortunately, this continued
placement of archival and records management issues on the back burner comes at
a cost to all of government. Storing
paper or electronic records which have no value is a cost. Elimination of records of importance to the
public also bears a cost. Wyoming's
public records are those materials which show how the Apublic's business@ is
conducted. They are a record of the
many policies and decisions by which the interests of the public are manifested
into action or inaction by the very government which they have elected and
supported through their tax dollars to serve them. Efficient records management is a critical element of government
serving the public.
While always a complicated issue, the complexity has
grown commensurately over the years due to variety of factors. The size and breadth of government has
increased dramatically over the past 100 years. There are not only more people in the state, there are more
communities. There are also
significantly more government programs with a broad array of bureaucratic
support systems which require documentation at an ever increasing level. Although there has been an increase in the
size and number of governmental entities, there has not been an increase in the
interest of government officials to manage the increased number of records
generated. The attention to the
management of public records to determine what needs saved, what doesn't, for
how long it should be saved, has not increased in a fashion consistent with the
growth of government. This lack of
attention by various program managers suggests much is being saved without
sufficient reason or justification.
The increased emphasis on legal liability has increased
the complexity of records management.
Many people are afraid to throw any materials away for fear the
information could help them in a later
legal or administrative battle. Many
others are afraid to keep any materials for fear that the information may be
used against them in a later legal or administrative battle. These divergent perspectives suggest a lack
of uniformity to records management and heighten the need to address the issue
before a court case comes along that has significant cost implications on the
taxpayer due to the state's inconsistent records management system.
The advent of electronic records is merely the latest
manifestation of an ongoing records problem. The issue of technology transfer
and data collection are technically driven as are the solutions. However, the most critical point of emphasis
is that government is creating more and more paperwork, because it is just so
easy to do so. When people had to write
everything by hand, it was quite labor intensive and therefore, files were kept
to more manageable levels. The advent
of carbon paper, electronic typewriters, photocopiers, wordprocessors and
computers have served to increase the amount of paperwork created by various
governmental entities at a phenomenal rate.
It's so easy to create paperwork that the issues of managing those
materials have been largely ignored.
Now is the time to provide attention to these issues and the LSO Program Evaluation provides the state with a mechanism to do so. The Department of State Parks and Cultural Resources is strongly supportive of efforts to improve the management of public records and to increase the effectiveness of our programs. We recognize that such an effort will not be accomplished solely by staff, but will involve the cooperation of the legislature, the Office of the Governor, local government officials, other state agencies and the public. We are willing to do our part and look forward to working for the quality management of our state's public records.
Sincerely,
John T. Keck
Director
JTK:klm
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