Neil Bergsman, Executive Director
Office of Budget Analysis
Department of Budget and Management
45 Calvert St.
Annapolis, MD 21401

Dear Mr. Bergsman,

We appreciate your patience with regard to the Archives budget submittal for FY 2002.  The new computerized submittal, while ultimately, I have no doubt, a godsend for all concerned, has quintupled the amount of work necessary for submittal this year.  I suspect that you have already heard a tale of woe in this regard, but the mere matter of having to constantly re-enter data because it would not take in the system, slowed us down considerably.

Our total request for FY 2002 is $4,477,153. The request for general funds is $3,066,970 which is $350,970 greater than the current services budget target of $2,716,000 recommended by your office on July 5. Our request for special funds is $1,410,183 which is almost equivalent to the actual special fund expenditure in Fiscal Year 2000 of $1,403,482 , is substantially higher than the Fiscal Year 2001 appropriation of $1,136,344.

The difference in the general fund request and current services budget recommendation of July is  accounted for by a necessary request for  base-line personnel and in the recently added cost of maintenance of our facility, all of which deserved to be accounted for in our baseline request.

Personnel

The budget request for regular personnel amounts to $2,844,620 which is comprised of $2,140,006 in general funds and $704,614 in special funds. As in past years, special funds defray 25 percent of the cost for our regular staff.  The general fund cost increases over the previous fiscal year include $201,637 for current staff, $120,858 for contractual conversions, and $32,812 for one new position. This is an increase of $355,306 in requested general fund support over the Fiscal Year 2001 appropriation of $1,784,700.

Cost of Existing Personnel

The rising cost of Archives' personnel was Priority 1 in our submission for the current services budget request last May. At that time we estimated the general fund cost for personnel would be $1,909,243, an increase of $124,543 over the Fiscal Year 2001 appropriation. Despite this estimate, the current services budget target provided only $63,000 for this expense.

Once preparation of the Fiscal Year 2002 budget request for personnel was completed we found that the actual cost would be $1,986,337 which reflects a general fund increase of $201,637 over the previous year. The adjustment for personnel costs furnished in the current services target, $63,000, and most of the inflation adjustment, $18,038, provides only $81,038 to apply towards this expense. The result is a $120,599 shortfall in general fund support for the staff employed here which we have requested in the baseline to keep our legally mandated archival functions at their FY 2001 level..

Contractual Conversions

We also have requested conversion of five positions in the baseline to keep us functioning at our current level of service. General funds in the amount of $120,858 have been requested for three of these positions.  Adjustments in Object 02 include a reduction of $39,059 in general funds that had been appropriated in FY 2001 to offset the cost of these conversions.

Archivist III, Webmaster for the Archives of Maryland, Current Services Budget Request Priority 4, $47,491

The Archives of Maryland will have acquired approximately 25GB of data, comprising over 500,000 images and text, by the end of Fiscal Year 2002. This position is responsible for image acquisition and supervision of contractual employees, interns, and volunteers. General fund support for the position, $26,974, in the current fiscal year has been allocated towards the cost of the conversion. These adjustments bring the budget for the Archives of Maryland back to the Fiscal Year 2001 request level which the General Assembly reduced by $20,000, but made clear it ws expected that we would obtain full funding in FY 2002.

Archivist II, Curatorial Assistance for Artistic Properties, Current Services Budget Request Priority 6, $31,006

During the last four fiscal years the Artistic Properties program has utilized contractual help to manage the inventory, arrange for loans, help with exhibits, and work with conservators to preserve objects in the State's art collection. During Fiscal Year 2001 this position will also be responsible for work on the conservation assessment of the Annapolis Collection and exhibition of material in the Miller Senate Office Building. This work will continue in Fiscal Year 2002 and it is expected that the new House of Delegates office building will require exhibits as well. The cost of the position during this fiscal year will be funded from the existing appropriation for contractual assistance and from the operating budget of the program. General fund support for the position in Fiscal Year 2002 has been allocated from Object 02, $12,085.  This funding is absolutely essential for the newly required workload generated by the creation of new buildings in the Annapolis complex.

Archivist III, Biographical Research Associate, Current Services Budget Request Priority 2, $42,361

This position is responsible for biographical research on the members of the General Assembly, first ladies and official hostesses, women judges, clerks of the Anne Arundel County Circuit Court, Comptrollers,  Secretaries of State, and all public officials. Work has also been undertaken for the Society of Senates' Past and the Speaker's Society. The cost of the position in Fiscal Year 2000 was supported by interest from the State Archives Fund and the Endowment Fund.

We have also requested an increased special fund appropriation for the conversion of Computer Networking Specialist II (Priority 3) and a Photographer II (Priority 5). The special fund request for these positions is $89,442.

New Position

Included in our baseline request is a request for a new position to provide programming for support for the Maryland Archives Management System (MAMS). Our Current Services Budget request for maintenance of MAMS (Priority 10) was estimated to cost over $52,000 per annum if the vendor was retained to support this system. In addition,  tasks such as the work we have undertaken for the Attorney General in developing a research site for the Potomac River litigation, database functions associated with the Archives of Maryland On-line, and development of the Electronic Archives require full time programming support. The amount of this request is $32,812 in general funds. This position is absolutely essential to the maintenance of a rapidly growing electronic archives (soon to include the automated budget system in historical perspective--essential to the usefulness of the system).

Maintenance for the Archives' Facility

I am asking that the Governor provide $115,760 in general funds to defray the cost of rent that is currently being assessed in special funds. This expense is a general fund obligation to properly maintain the building that houses and makes accessible Maryland's most important historical records. This will permit the use of special funds for the purposes for which they were raised and intended, that is the direct support of legally mandated archival functions.

Notes on Other Baseline Allocations

Funds to support the Carroll Papers Project, $16,000, have been requested in Object 12 rather than in Object 02 as in years past. The employee who was supported by this stipend has retired and the director of the Project has asked that we continue Maryland's support of this work with a direct grant. This continues matching fund support for the Project in conjunction with the National Historical Publications and Records Commission and the Omohundro Institute of Early American Culture at Colonial Williamsburg.

As indicated in our Current Services Budget request, Priority 7, the lease costs for warehouse space were expected to increase by $10,962 in Fiscal Year 2002. The budget allowance provided $10,000 towards this and the balance of the funds, $962, have been offset by the from the inflation adjustment.

Requests Beyond the Baseline

The Archives requires additional support for its program beyond the baseline. These include staff to assist the Commission on Slavery, an initiative for Web Readiness, provision for high speed Internet access from the Annapolis campus, acquisition new and replacement information technology equipment, a conservation assessment of the Peabody Collection, additional support for the Archives of Maryland project, and preservation of the Martenet Collection. These requests will be posted to BPAS the week of September 25, assuming that the system permits that rapid of an upload.

Also enclosed is our Managing For Results which has already been given to Gil Gross and Secretary Foster when they were here for our site visit by the Senate Budget and Taxaation committee.  Our information technology plan is completed and ready for submittal.

Sincerely,
 

ECP

cc: Gil Gross, HRC