|
In
fiscal 2010, 54 smaller cities were eligible to split almost $310 million in funding. Ten larger, higher-risk cities, like New York and Washington, vied for about $525 million. Thirty cities in 23 states and Washington will now share more than $662 million dollars. The lion's share, about $540 million, will be split by the 10 largest cities. Also included in the cities losing money are Providence, R.I., and Tucson, Ariz. In Providence, city emergency management director Peter Gaynor said he was perplexed by the decision, especially given intelligence culled from the raid in Pakistan earlier this month. The state's top emergency management official, meanwhile, called the wholesale loss of funding "a complete shock." "It was a surprise and to some extent a slap in the face," said J. David Smith, executive director of the Rhode Island Emergency Management Agency. In Texas, the Dallas and Houston areas remain eligible to receive around a combined $66 million this fiscal year. Cook said the funds to El Paso have made the city much more prepared since 2006. Yet he was OK with being dropped from the list this year. "It's a little bump in the road, but we'll be fine," Cook said.
Tucson officials said the $4.5 million the region had been receiving was partly used for training and exercises. Tucson police Lt. David Azuelo said the Jan. 8 mass shooting that left six dead and 13 wounded, including Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, is an example of how that training paid off. "We've been told by our partners that participated that if it wasn't for the collaborative training that we had done over the past four years that situation would have been much more difficult," Azuelo said. "We believe lives were saved." Sen. Joe Lieberman, a Connecticut independent and chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, said Connecticut stands to lose about half of the Homeland Security money its cities have received in recent years. Bridgeport and Hartford, which received a combined $5.5 million last year, are among the cities being cut from the program. "I understand that everyone must sacrifice to bring our federal deficit under control," Lieberman said in a statement. "But I do not support cutting the budget on the back of our national security, particularly since foreign and homegrown terrorists will continue to strike us at home."
[Associated
Press;
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
News | Sports | Business | Rural Review | Teaching & Learning | Home and Family | Tourism | Obituaries
Community |
Perspectives
|
Law & Courts |
Leisure Time
|
Spiritual Life |
Health & Fitness |
Teen Scene
Calendar
|
Letters to the Editor