The city clerk’s office took some time to clean out the basement at city hall. 

In 2017, the city clerk’s office received $80,000 of funding from the Department of IT Services for the project. 

“There were a number of files dating back to the 1940s, and the filing system of the city clerk's office had changed over the years,” said city assistant clerk Tracy Wittke.  

“The main objective of this project was to enhance the records management, retention, and destruction where appropriate to reduce corporate risk and the demands for additional storage.” 

In the past, records would be filed in the basement of city hall without a system to access if needed, which meant finding records from a previous year became a daunting task. 

In total, 4,645 property files and 2,206 clerk files were digitally scanned and archived, including 959,140 sheets of paper with historical data. 

“By completing this project, the city clerk's office now has the ability to maintain the archival record system and the manageability to add to the index collections each year," Wittke said.  

“As well, this project allows the city to meet legislative requirements and all departments access to historical information as required. I would like to say we did it.” 

The project cost was $46,683 with the remaining funds being returned to the unexpended capital account for future projects.