Homeland security funds for state rise

The Baltimore Sun

WASHINGTON -- Baltimore and Maryland will receive a total of more than $32 million in U.S. homeland security grants, the federal government announced yesterday. The amount represents a major increase over last year but falls short of the nearly $40 million in 2005.

Maryland can also expect to receive close to $23 million more under a special federal program for emergency communications, said Homeland Security spokesman Russ Knocke.

That one-time infusion would raise the state's total above $55 million, more than double last year's federal funding and close to the peak of more than $57 million in 2004.

In addition, areas of the state that are close to Washington will receive part of a $62 million grant to be allocated later.

Maryland's new homeland security money will be spent on a wide range of needs, from port security in Baltimore to communications upgrades designed to let federal, state and local authorities talk with one another in the event of a disaster.

Gov. Martin O'Malley's office said that at least 80 percent of the state's $20.2 million will go to local fire and police departments, for needs ranging from improving emergency communications to bolstering the ability of authorities to analyze and share terrorism information from around the state and from the federal government.

Maryland officials said they were pleased with the increased funding but said it wouldn't meet all of the state's security needs.

A spokesman for Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon called it "excellent news for the city."

"We're excited about these dollars, they were unexpected dollars, but we could always use more," said spokesman Anthony McCarthy. Officials had been told the city would be getting $11 million, but Baltimore wound up with $11,860,000.

Baltimore Fire Chief William J. Goodwin Jr. said the city would spend its money on items such as port security, evacuation planning, emergency response capabilities and hazardous-material detection.

"It's an increase from last year but nowhere near meets the requirements that we submitted," said Goodwin.

Baltimore scored particularly well, according to Homeland Security Department documents, which showed that the city's application earned the maximum 100 rating. The national average was 83 points.

Maryland did not rank as well, with a score of 77 that placed it in the 35th percentile among states. Still, it received a funding increase because it put forward "prudent projects," said Knocke, the Homeland Security spokesman.

State and local officials said they were particularly encouraged by the $22.9 million that Maryland is expected to get for revamping aging emergency response communications systems and radios that cannot talk to one another.

Across the nation, the inability of emergency responders to communicate with one another has persisted for six years since the Sept. 11 attacks and two years since Hurricane Katrina. The infusion of new money from Washington is meant to begin correcting that.

Baltimore officials said they intend to lobby hard for a piece of the state's communications grant. The money could be used for the city's emergency radio system, batteries and network infrastructure.

Maryland has spent millions on emergency communications improvements since the 2001 attacks, but gaps remain, said Andrew Lauland, who is O'Malley's homeland security adviser.

"Communications are one of our top priorities," he said. "We're pleased there is a specific program this year for interoperable communications."

Lauland said the money would go to first-responders around the state, to help cities and counties upgrade their communications systems from analog to digital and other needs. The money could also go to making sure that state and federal officials will be able to reach one another in the event of an emergency.

But he cautioned that the high cost of modern communications systems would mean that the money the state expects to receive soon will only begin to solve the communications problems facing local emergency personnel such as firefighters and police.

One federal official who has worked extensively on the problem said, however, that state and local governments do not have to spend this money on large, expensive systems, which major radio companies, including Motorola and Ericsson, are attempting to sell them.

The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to the news media, said so-called patching technology, which would thread existing systems together, is much cheaper and, in the end, would be a more flexible way to anticipate future communications needs.

A spokeswoman for U.S. Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski cautioned that the federal grant for communications systems was not guaranteed and that Maryland must formally apply for the money. But state and federal officials said they expected the funds to be approved this year or in early 2008.

Mikulski said Maryland should have gotten more.

"While I am pleased to hear that the Department of Homeland Security is moving forward with the state allocations, I am disappointed to see such a mild increase for Maryland," the Democratic senator said through a spokeswoman.

Michael Greenberger, who directs the University of Maryland's homeland security center, said the funding levels for Maryland and Baltimore were proportional to the level of risk they face from terrorism and natural disasters.

Baltimore's funding - through a program for cities deemed most at risk of a terrorist attack or natural disaster - was similar to that for Houston and Miami, but less than Boston and San Diego.

Greenberger said the Homeland Security Department appeared to rectify last year's "fiasco," when it cut funding for New York and Washington, D.C., while boosting money for Louisville, Ky., and Omaha, Neb.

Large cities received the bulk of the latest funding under the program for high-threat areas. New York got the most, $134 million; Los Angeles was second, with $73 million.

Washington and the surrounding National Capital Region, including parts of suburban Maryland and Virginia, received $62 million, to be allocated later.

For the state grant program, which ensures that all states get some money but doles out more to those deemed at greater risk, Maryland's allotment was similar to Massachusetts' and North Carolina's.

The biggest winners were California, which got $96 million, and New York, with $67 million.

"We really are putting most of the money in the area that most of the risk is," Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff told reporters.

Still, Greenberger said, overall federal spending for state and local security should be much higher, especially "when you think that we're spending $3 billion a week in Iraq."

U.S. Rep. John Sarbanes, a Baltimore County Democrat, called the announcement "a step in the right direction," adding that most of the money will go to "building infrastructure and supporting people at the local community level, which is exactly where it needs to be to make sure that you respond to any kind of disaster or incident in a comprehensive way."

Rep. C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger, another Baltimore County Democrat, said he was "very pleased" to see funding to improve public safety communications.

"Not only did we learn from the firefighters in New York, but also, there's a case where Prince George's County firefighters went over to the Pentagon [on Sept. 11], and their communications system didn't work," he said.

"If you don't protect the first-responders, they can't protect us."

siobhan.gorman@baltsun.com sumathi.reddy@baltsun.com

Sun reporter Matthew Hay Brown contributed to this article.

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