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December 13, 2005

Mayor Cites Ongoing Need to Upgrade Vital Records, Streamline Archiving Process

WOODBRIDGE – Mayor Frank G. Pelzman has announced that Woodbridge Township has applied to the New Jersey Department of State for a Phase Two PARIS grant to continue upgrading the Township’s public records management system.

The Township seeks $150,000 from the state’s Public Archives and Records Infrastructure Support (PARIS) program, an ambitious multi-year effort to aid counties and municipalities in improving public archives and records management.

“We greatly appreciate this commitment toward helping us upgrade our records management,” says Mayor Pelzman. “We have already automated our Building Department records and achieved significant savings in time and expense that are passed on to the taxpayer. This Phase Two grant will help us expand that efficiency to other departments, especially those that directly service residents.”

The requested funding would enable Woodbridge to hire a full-time records manager, expand the current records imaging system to additional departments and acquire a new imaging server.

According to Karl J. Niederer, State Records Committee Secretary, “ PARIS grants address the need for building and improving the infrastructure of county and municipal records systems statewide.” New Jersey’s local governments will use grant funds to boost the efficiency of filing, storing and accessing public records, preserve valuable archives and drive down the administrative cost to taxpayers.

Funded by document filing and recording fees collected by county clerks, PARIS is a key component of the New Jersey Public Records Preservation Program established by the state legislature in 2003. Grants are awarded by the State Records Committee, which comprises the State Treasurer, Attorney General, State Auditor, Director of Local Government Services (DCA) and the Director of the Division of Archives and Records Management (DARM). Both programs will be administered by DARM, a division of the Department of State.

From the municipal perspective, the timing of the grant couldn’t better, says Michael Esolda, Chief Information Officer of Woodbridge Township and Woodbridge Township School District . “Imaging and archiving technology is changing rapidly and providing new opportunities for municipalities to consolidate their paper and electronic records.”

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