There will be two grant cycles per year as required by the legislation. The first cycle will be extremely tight because the legislation went into effect July 1, 2000. However, the program will gain more credibility the faster it gives out funds. The towns and legislature will see results sooner and this will aid the budget process for next year. The first two years will be for targeted rather than competitive grants.
Competitive grants are more difficult to apply for as well as evaluate.
The staff proposes three granting levels based on populations. The total grant amount for each cycle depends upon the current fund level. The goal is to ensure that every town gets something back from the fund. This will allow every town to reach a minimum level of record preservation. The advisory committee discussed the proposed funding priorities that target paper conservation during the first two cycles and training and preservation microfilming workshops during the second two cycles.