Homeland Security funding has made a
difference locally in updating equipment and helping
agencies get new technology in the fight against
terrorism.
Nationally, the Department of Homeland Security has a
2005 budget of $40.2 billion. This is an increase of 10
percent above the comparable 2004 resource level.
President George Bush has requested a total of $41.1
billion for 2006 for the Department of Homeland
Security. This request includes a total of $4 billion
for state and local assistance programs.
The department was established in March 2003
integrating 22 different agencies and bureaus whose
mission is to secure the homeland.
The Alabama Department of Homeland Security was
formed in June 2003 by an act of the Legislature.
Alabama was the first state in the nation to create its
own legislatively enacted, cabinet-level Department of
Homeland Security. The department is staffed to mirror
the U.S. DHS. The head of Alabama’s DHS is director Jim
Walker.
The Alabama DHS has five assistant directors, each
managing a designated homeland security area of
responsibility. These areas of responsibility are
borders, ports and transportation; science and
technology; intelligence analysis and infrastructure
protection; information management and budget; and
emergency preparedness and response.
Since its inception, the Alabama DHS has administered
throughout the state, approximately $100 million
federally appropriated homeland security grants.
Walker said 80 percent of this funding goes to local
governments and 20 percent to the state level.
"Yet there is no guarantee a county will get funding.
For example in 2003, 26 counties received funding, while
in 2004 and 2005 all 67 got grant monies for homeland
security," he said.
Walker said the department’s three basic jobs are to
prevent terrorism, protect the state’s infrastructure
and to respond as quickly as possible if an attack
occurs.
"We are building these capabilities around the state
working with both public and private sector, law
enforcement, emergency management, emergency medical,
fire services, public works, public health, public
safety communications, military and more. We are also
working to improve interoperable communications with all
counties, bridging radio equipment so we can all talk to
one another. Information services is so important. We
also hope to do more of this in the future and are
invested in improving communications among all
agencies," he said.
Interoperable communications are used by responders
locally and nationally. The state and national
departments are working to improve these capabilities in
the future.
Walker believes Alabama’s DHS has done its best "for
what we have. We are making progress every day and the
infusion of dollars from the U.S. Department of Homeland
Security has helped."
Local funding
The Emergency Management Agencies in Talladega and
St. Clair counties are responsible for what is referred
to as "point of contact" for homeland security locally.
The federal funding through grants comes to these
agencies.
Nelson Bates, director of Talladega County EMA said a
committee was formed of the county’s municipal mayors or
their representatives, County Commission chairman,
Sheriff’s Department, E-911 director and EMA director.
The committee works together to decide what is needed
to benefit the entire county when it comes to purchasing
equipment for possible terrorist plots.
This year, the committee, Bates said, decided the
protection of judicial buildings, courthouses and public
buildings was necessary.
The county received $150,000 in funding this year and
last year from DHS.
The state this year got $28 million and the majority
of it is going for a system statewide for interoperable
communications connecting all counties and agencies
together.
Talladega County’s first grant was received in Sept.
2002, known as a weapons of mass destruction grant,
Bates said. The $33,193 was spent on equipment for fire
and rescue, HAZMAT and fire departments. Self-contained
breathing apparatuses, cooling vest, laptop computers,
chemical analyzers, in-suit communications and chemical
resistant gloves were purchased.
Also in December of that same year, the county was
provided with another $57,019. Municipal fire
departments received thermal imagers used to find people
in smoke-filled environments, the two HAZMAT teams in
the county got some chemical sensors and breathing
apparatuses.
In 2003, Talladega County was funded $10,200 from the
state and the committee decided to buy laser range
finders and night vision binoculars for law enforcement
agencies.
A DHS grant in 2004 of $150,000 allowed the Talladega
County committee to purchase two medically equipped
triage trailers for $85,000. One is housed on the north
end and the other on the south end of the county. These
trailers can be used to treat up to 300 people each,
Bates said.
In addition, more thermal imagers were bought,
tactical survelliance pole cameras for HAZMAT teams in
Childersburg and Lincoln and the Talladega and Sylacauga
Police Department SWAT teams.
These pole cameras can be extended on a pole and sent
into a location to check out the surroundings before law
enforcement or other personnel respond to a situation,
Bates said.
"We do our research on what we need," he added.
Another piece of equipment purchased was an air
system trailer for volunteer fire departments to refill
their air tanks when necessary at a scene. The cost of
this was $29,900.
"It is well worth every penny," Bates said.
The county this year received $65,000 to tie in its
three communication systems used by agencies, along with
purchasing some chemical detection kids for HAZMAT teams
and two Gator all-terrain vehicles also for the HAZMAT
teams.
Morgan Arnold with Childersburg’s HAZMAT team said
this all-terrain vehicle allows members suited up in
protective gear with supplies to be transported to an
area that could be hard to get to.
"A site affected may be 150 yards away. This vehicle
can transport a team in protective gear to the site," he
said.
Arnold said the equipment provided from these
homeland security grants supplements the team’s efforts
from monitoring equipment such as gas detectors to
additional training for specialized situations.
"It allows us to upgrade our equipment and get
equipment we don’t have," he said.
Sylacauga Police Chief Louis Zook said while homeland
security funds have helped locally, money once available
through other programs has been eliminated because of
the emphasis on homeland security.
"Most everything we have applied for previously is
now put under homeland security. Funds are now funded
from federal to state to county EMAs," Zook said.
Zook said Sylacauga may be low on the totem pole for
a terrorist risk, but people expect "us to respond if
something happens. To do this we need equipment and the
homeland security funding allows us to get some
equipment we might not otherwise be able to get. We are
a small department, and I doubt seriously we will get
attacked by al-Qaida, but we still have concerns over
security, whether it’s drugs, burglaries or whatever.
That is important, too. We have been provided equipment
and training through homeland security funding. I
believe the money has been well spent. Needs are met
that might not otherwise be met. It is a good thing, but
there are restrictions attached to it."
Talladega Police Chief Alan Watson said his
department has been able to get some specialized
equipment, such as the pole camera, through the grant.
The camera is used by the department’s SWAT team,
especially in the event of a possible terrorist plot.
"You could see what’s going on for example in a train
car by inserting it or in an area that is suspect. It is
such a high tech piece of technology to have in our
arsenal. It also has other uses if necessary," he said.
Watson said the department prioritizes it needs and
buys what it needs, whereas this high tech tool was
purchased thanks to homeland security dollars.
Ellen Haynes, director of St. Clair County Emergency
Management Agency, said funding from homeland security
is allocated to agencies through a committee. The
committee is chosen by mayors in the county, county
commission, sheriff’s office, 911 and EMA.
The committee meets reviews the list of equipment
that can be purchased with homeland security funding
based on federal guidelines and authorized the necessary
expenditures based on need.
"The committee talks about these needs, brings ideas
to the table also and then votes on what to fund. Pretty
much all of the decisions have been unanimous based on a
lot of teamwork," she said.
Prior to 2003, counties like St. Clair and Talladega
got funds through what was known as weapons of mass
destruction preparations through the Department of
Justice, Haynes said. After the creation and formal set
up of the Homeland Security Department, grants came
through here.
St. Clair County in 2000-2001 received $58,216 in WMD
grant funds. This was spent on protective equipment for
responders, decontamination equipment, carbon monoxide
detection equipment and portable chemical detection
kids.
In 2002, the county received $101,723 in WMD grants
used for HAZMAT equipment, radios, vests, chemical
detectors and other equipment.
The county got more than $35,000 in homeland security
grants. A medium rescue team was formed through Jeff
Redwine, chief of Moody Fire and Rescue; a Homeland
Security Threat Assessment and Strategy Plan was formed
for the county; and rescue equipment was purchased for
the Moody Medium Rescue Team.
The county received over $100,000 in 2004 from
homeland security grants. This money is being used to
establish and enhance a sustainable homeland security
exercise program with two training exercises; establish
and enhance emergency operations center which houses the
Sheriff’s Department, central dispatch and EMA; and
enhance multi-discipline agencies to respond to a WMD
incident including purchasing equipment for the HAZMAT
team to train law enforcement, fire departments and EMS
HAZMAT awareness.
Lt. Don Newton with the Pell City Police Department
said this year’s funding from the Homeland Security
Department is helping the county work on a database. His
department is getting a mobile laptop through the
funding.
He said funding has also provided more HAZMAT
awareness classes for agencies along with other training
in various areas of security detection when it comes to
terrorism.
"The funding is distributed fairly, I believe. I see
another benefit from having agencies work together
through homeland Security and that is the rapport that
has developed between agencies. You get to know other
agency personnel and make contacts you might not
otherwise have made. We meet and see these people three
or four times a year. I think it helps in so many ways.
These personal contacts and the technical tools we get
go hand in hand to address the issues we now face when
it comes to this particular threat," Newton said.
