diamond den™
01-22-2004, 04:59 PM
I just found this story on the Rueters Website :(
U.S. Cities Still Waiting for Security Funds
Thu January 22, 2004 03:45 PM ET
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Money to tighten security and boost counterterrorism capacity in U.S. cities has started to trickle down to local governments, but most cities say they have yet to see any of the billions of dollars they were promised, a new report showed on Thursday.
The U.S. Conference of Mayors survey found that 76 percent of the 215 cities responding had not received their share of $1.5 billion Congress earmarked in fiscal 2003 to boost security for critical infrastructure and improve the readiness of police, firefighters and other emergency response teams.
That figure compared to 90 percent who reported last September that they had not received the money, but the mayors said the numbers were still unacceptable.
"As leaders of cities which must be prepared to move at any time to higher terrorism threat levels -- just as we did one month ago -- this is completely unacceptable," said conference president James Garner, mayor of Hempstead, New York.
The need for heightened security and preparedness has strained state and local budgets at a time when they were already struggling with inadequate revenue and increased costs due to the soft national economy.
About three out of every four cities served by a "high-risk" transit system for which they provided security services said they had received no federal money, although the 2003 federal budget allocated $65 million for transit security.
In addition, 64 percent of the cities said they had not received a share of $556 million allocated for state domestic preparedness. Of cities responsible for providing security for ports, 64 percent said they had not received any funds from the $245 million that Congress earmarked for that purpose.
The survey's brightest spot showed that 81 percent of the cities expected their health departments to receive their share of a promised $1.4 billion for health and hospital emergency preparedness.
Mayors blame the slow trickle of funds on a mechanism that relies on state governments to divide up the federal funds and ensure that city and other local governments get their share.
"As I always say, homeland security money went to the states by Federal Express, but came to cities by Pony Express," Garner said. "This report is a national call for improving the system."
© Reuters 2004. All Rights Reserved.
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=domesticNews&storyID=4189394
U.S. Cities Still Waiting for Security Funds
Thu January 22, 2004 03:45 PM ET
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Money to tighten security and boost counterterrorism capacity in U.S. cities has started to trickle down to local governments, but most cities say they have yet to see any of the billions of dollars they were promised, a new report showed on Thursday.
The U.S. Conference of Mayors survey found that 76 percent of the 215 cities responding had not received their share of $1.5 billion Congress earmarked in fiscal 2003 to boost security for critical infrastructure and improve the readiness of police, firefighters and other emergency response teams.
That figure compared to 90 percent who reported last September that they had not received the money, but the mayors said the numbers were still unacceptable.
"As leaders of cities which must be prepared to move at any time to higher terrorism threat levels -- just as we did one month ago -- this is completely unacceptable," said conference president James Garner, mayor of Hempstead, New York.
The need for heightened security and preparedness has strained state and local budgets at a time when they were already struggling with inadequate revenue and increased costs due to the soft national economy.
About three out of every four cities served by a "high-risk" transit system for which they provided security services said they had received no federal money, although the 2003 federal budget allocated $65 million for transit security.
In addition, 64 percent of the cities said they had not received a share of $556 million allocated for state domestic preparedness. Of cities responsible for providing security for ports, 64 percent said they had not received any funds from the $245 million that Congress earmarked for that purpose.
The survey's brightest spot showed that 81 percent of the cities expected their health departments to receive their share of a promised $1.4 billion for health and hospital emergency preparedness.
Mayors blame the slow trickle of funds on a mechanism that relies on state governments to divide up the federal funds and ensure that city and other local governments get their share.
"As I always say, homeland security money went to the states by Federal Express, but came to cities by Pony Express," Garner said. "This report is a national call for improving the system."
© Reuters 2004. All Rights Reserved.
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=domesticNews&storyID=4189394