Tuesday, October 15, 2024
The Coryell County Commissioners Court unanimously approved the renewal of a $10 county records archive fee that goes toward the preservation and restoration of historic records.
Although the fee has been in place since 2003, County Judge Roger Miller and County Clerk Jennifer Newton explained the purpose of it at a regular Commissioners Court meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 24.
With the fee, the Coryell County Clerk’s Office is able to preserve all historic records in the basement of the courthouse that date as far back as 1854.
“If any of you have ever taken the opportunity to visit the basement of the courthouse, you will see some of the results and the effects of those fee funds, and some of the advances that have been made in preserving this fund,” Miller said.
Newton said that the fee started out at $5 in 2003 and increased to $10 in 2015. The fee is attached to property records filed with the County Clerk’s Office.
The clerk’s office is currently in the middle of transferring the old records into an electronic format, and then will preserve them in a way that protects them from the light and elements.
“We began our project last year, and we just got the first portion of it back, and they were able to archive 120 books, which turned into 175,000 documents,” Newton said. “Those are all now in electronic format, and we will begin phase two in November.”
A public hearing was held for the fee, but no one from the public provided a comment.
The fee is state-mandated and covered under Local Government Code 118.011(f) and 118.025.
