Georgia Archives Will Remain Open

            Governor Nathan Deal recently announced that the Georgia Archive will remain open until at least the end of the fiscal year. Due to the 3% overall budget cut that is being made to the most state agencies, the Archives were due to be closed as a full-time facility around the beginning on November. If the Archives had been closed, Governor Deal and Secretary of State Brian Kemp would have saved over $730,000. More than enough to cover the needed 3% cut for Kemp. Thanks to the backing of Archive supporters, Governor Deal and Secretary of State Kemp have decided to return $125,000 to Kemp’s budget in order to allow the Archives to remain open. The management of the Archive will also be transferred to the University System of Georgia.  Despite this victory, there will still be cuts to the number of employees working at the Archives, with a total of 7 lay-offs planned for November 1.

The Georgia Archives is an essential government institute that preserves some of Georgia’s most treasured historical artifacts and documents. It also keeps and maintains government and county records, allowing for efficient and precise record management as well as provides a source of background information for legislators working on current issues and proposed legislations. For the public, the Georgia Archives is an indispensable source of historical data. Because of this, the previous decision to close the Georgia Archive from the public ignited a barrage of complaints from family genealogists and local research academics.

The budget cuts that threatened the continued operation of the Georgia Archives are only a few out of the dozens of budget cuts being made throughout the state, particularly to health care and universities. Governor Nathan Deal has asked for $553 million in cuts through June of 2014, an amount much higher than last year’s cuts. After enduring more than 5 years of continuous budget cuts, state agencies have had to cut jobs and colleges have had to raise tuitions. These continued reductions have cause apprehension over the weakness of the state’s economy and the possibility of improvement by the end of the 2014 fiscal year. One can only wonder, Is the narrowly-avoided closing of Georgia Archives only the beginning of the losses caused by what seems to be a growing trend of state budget discrepancies?

Sources:
http://www.sos.ga.gov/archives/About/default.htm
http://www.ajc.com/news/news/state-regional-govt-politics/more-budget-cuts-ahead-for-state-health-care-unive/nQXjK/
http://www.ajc.com/news/news/georgia-archives-will-stay-open/nSg4r/