Montgomery Advertiser December 12, 2005
State to get less for security
By Mike Linn and Julie Arrington
The Department of Homeland Security has dispersed nearly $100 million to Alabama communities since 2003 to prepare for a possible terrorist attack, but the funding is expected to taper off next year.
Grants for giant medical trailers, water rescue and communications equipment and security systems for county courthouses were essentially cut in October when Congress changed its funding to a more risk-based approach, rather than by population.
Officials in rural communities say the federal organization has sent hundreds of thousands of dollars their way, allowing fire departments and law enforcement agencies to buy high-tech equipment they wouldn't have otherwise.
The battle on Capitol Hill over how the Department of Homeland Security spends money warmed to a boil last week when members of the 9/11 Commission issued 17 Fs and Ds and just one A in grading the government's plan to keep America safe from another terrorist attack.
Congress received one failing grade for not allocating money based on the actual risk of terrorism. Under the system that became law in October, about 40 percent of the grant money is doled out equally among the 50 states and territories, with the remaining $560 million allocated at the department's discretion based on a region's risk for a terrorist attack.
Before that, the 60 percent was shelled out based on population of each state, a method that prompted severe criticism among advocacy groups.
"The new funding system is fair," said Mike Lewis, a spokesman for U.S. Rep. Terry Everett, R-Enterprise. "We don't know where a terrorist will strike, and we need to make sure we're protected on the home front as well as the major cities."
U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Tuscaloosa, said a risk-based approach works best.
"It is important we provide homeland security funding to communities with the greatest needs, while also ensuring the appropriate oversight mechanism is used to make certain our nation receives the maximum benefit of these funds," he said in a statement.
The 9/11 Commission wants to decrease state allocations even more, and many in Washington agree.
"Not every person is at equal risk of being attacked by evildoers," said John Pike, president of GlobalSecurity.org, a Washington area security think tank. "My sister lives down a dirt road out in rural Tennessee. I live on Capitol Hill. Any money that she and I are getting an equal share of is probably not being well-spent."
But many rural communities need security equipment to bring them up to par with larger communities, especially communication systems equipment, said Joe Davis, assistant director of the state's Department of Homeland Security.
Davis said much of the equipment purchased for a smaller city, like a $350,000 triage trailer for Prattville, is available for use by the state. It is based in Prattville because the city is centrally located.
Homeland Security has awarded $561,000 in grants for Autauga County in the past two years, money that went toward a mobile command and control center, two sets of security lights, rescue equipment, UHF radios and communications equipment.
Davis said Homeland funds couldn't be used for everyday equipment, such as police cars, ammunition, fire hoses, firetrucks or bulletproof jackets. Autauga County Emergency Management Agency officials say the equipment will be used, regardless of whether a terrorist attack or major natural disaster hits the county.
"We're kind of like the military in that we have to prepare for war and hope we never go," Prattville Fire Chief Stanley Gann said.
The Montgomery County Emergency Management Agency spent $375,000 it received this year for a hazardous materials vehicle, computers, dive equipment and security upgrades at the courthouse and police department, said Derrick Cunningham, a spokesman for Montgomery County EMA.
Cunningham also said that slashing funds to the volunteer fire departments in the rural areas of the county could be a problem because of response to traffic accidents on interstates that pass through sparsely populated parts of Montgomery County.
Despite the purchases, the threat of terrorism remains high, said Loren Thompson, a defense analyst with the Lexington Institute, a Washington-area Defense Department think tank.
"There are so many potential threats, and each one of them is so unpredictable, that you could triple the budget and still not make much difference," he said.
© Copyright 2005, The Advertiser Co.
