City of Sacramento to lose $3.2 million in Homeland Security funds
By Gina Harkins
Medill News Service
Medill News Service
Published: Sunday, Jul. 24, 2011 - 12:00 am | Page 3B
© Copyright The Sacramento Bee. All rights reserved.
WASHINGTON – Emergency preparedness tools ranging from mobile command posts to terrorism response training for police are at risk of being scaled back or eliminated because the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has scratched Sacramento from its list of cities receiving special preparedness grants.
Sacramento is one of 34 cities that will lose money from the Urban Area Security Initiative grant program later this year. The city won't easily be able to make up the loss of $3.2 million – the 2010 federal grant, said Sgt. Norm Leong of the Sacramento Police Department.
The city has been receiving grants from the Department of Homeland Security since 2003. Its first grant totaled $6.9 million. Subsequent grants averaged $5 million per year.
The effects of the funding loss on Sacramento's emergency management and capabilities will be significant, according to Leong, the Police Department's spokesman.
Without the programs funded by the grants, he said he fears the city could easily become overwhelmed in an emergency.
"Our budget is terrible right now, though," he said. "I don't think the city will be able to breach any gap that will be lost."
Homeland Security announced in May that it would drop the number of cities receiving the grants from 65 to 31.
Chris Ortman, a Homeland Security spokesman, said the agency had to reassess the grant program after Congress cut a quarter of the grant budget.
"The highest-risk cities in our country continue to face the most significant threats," Ortman said. "And, consistent with recommendations from the 9/11 Commission, (this year's) Homeland Security grants focus the limited resources that were appropriated to mitigating and responding to these evolving threats."
Rep. Doris Matsui, D-Sacramento, tried to prevent the cuts to Sacramento. She condemned the announcement to cut Sacramento's funding in a press statement released after the announcement in May.
"Sacramento is the capital of California, the most populous state in the Union, and the seventh largest economy in the world," Matsui said. "It is critical to continue to support the anti- and counterterrorism work being done there."
Smaller cities rely on such aid because they often need to pool resources to deal with a large-scale emergency in the region, Leong said.
"Smaller cities have to grab regional assets whereas a city like New York City has 10,000 officers plus," Leong said. "They might not need regional assistance in an incident."
Leong worried that the loss of funding, which was mostly used for training and operating systems already put in place, could weaken the city's effectiveness in dealing with emergencies in the future.
The Sacramento Police Department currently trains terrorism liaison officers; there are now 450 in the region, Leong said.
But that special training might not continue for new officers without funding.
"We have enough funding to keep it going for a year or two because we had savings from previous years," Leong said. But beyond that, it might not be possible, he said.
The city has been receiving grants from the Department of Homeland Security since 2003. Its first grant totaled $6.9 million. Subsequent grants averaged $5 million per year.
The effects of the funding loss on Sacramento's emergency management and capabilities will be significant, according to Leong, the Police Department's spokesman.
Without the programs funded by the grants, he said he fears the city could easily become overwhelmed in an emergency.
"Our budget is terrible right now, though," he said. "I don't think the city will be able to breach any gap that will be lost."
Homeland Security announced in May that it would drop the number of cities receiving the grants from 65 to 31.
Chris Ortman, a Homeland Security spokesman, said the agency had to reassess the grant program after Congress cut a quarter of the grant budget.
"The highest-risk cities in our country continue to face the most significant threats," Ortman said. "And, consistent with recommendations from the 9/11 Commission, (this year's) Homeland Security grants focus the limited resources that were appropriated to mitigating and responding to these evolving threats."
Rep. Doris Matsui, D-Sacramento, tried to prevent the cuts to Sacramento. She condemned the announcement to cut Sacramento's funding in a press statement released after the announcement in May.
"Sacramento is the capital of California, the most populous state in the Union, and the seventh largest economy in the world," Matsui said. "It is critical to continue to support the anti- and counterterrorism work being done there."
Smaller cities rely on such aid because they often need to pool resources to deal with a large-scale emergency in the region, Leong said.
"Smaller cities have to grab regional assets whereas a city like New York City has 10,000 officers plus," Leong said. "They might not need regional assistance in an incident."
Leong worried that the loss of funding, which was mostly used for training and operating systems already put in place, could weaken the city's effectiveness in dealing with emergencies in the future.
The Sacramento Police Department currently trains terrorism liaison officers; there are now 450 in the region, Leong said.
But that special training might not continue for new officers without funding.
"We have enough funding to keep it going for a year or two because we had savings from previous years," Leong said. But beyond that, it might not be possible, he said.
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