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Georgia Archives to Remain Open to Public

October 18th, 2012

The Georgia Archives will remain open and accessible to the public rather than moving to an appointment only system in November. Governor Nathan Deal and Secretary of State Brian Kemp announced Thursday Deal is restoring $125,000 to Kemp’s budget to keep the archives open for the remainder the budget year.

The restoration by Governor Deal comes after many Georgians complained about a plan to save the state money by cutting the number of hours and employees at the archives. Kemp says the restoration in funding will keep the archives open the same number of hours and days it is now.

“We won’t be able to provide as many resources as we have in the past, but certainly we are appreciative of the governor’s will in this to find what money he did to keep us open and give access to the public.”

But Kemp will still have to cut more than $600,000. Kemp declined to say how he’ll trim that amount from his budget, including whether seven employees who were slated for layoff will still lose their jobs. He says he’ll provide more details after he speaks with those employees.

Kemp also says he will work with the governor during the legislative session to place the archives beneath the university system rather than under the secretary of state’s office. Kemp says the move would provide additional resources for the archives.

A spokesman for Governor Deal says the $125,000 in additional funding will come from the state’s general fund.