The board of county commissioners of each county may apply to the Secretary, upon forms provided by him and in accordance with directives and requirements outlined in N.C. Gen. Stat. § 102-17, for assistance in completing one or more projects. Such project or projects shall constitute one or more phases of a plan for the improvement of the county’s land records. The work to be undertaken shall be described in relation to the county’s revaluation schedule, and it shall be shown to be a part of a larger undertaking for achieving ultimate long-term improvements in the land records maintained by the county register of deeds, the county tax supervisor, or other county office. (1977, c. 1099, s. 1.)