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County homeland security funding may not be secure
By Richard Foster CONTRIBUTING WRITER

The Chesterfield County Department of Fire and Emergency Services conducts terrorism training at the old Hecht's store at Cloverleaf Mall. Some of the county's past homeland security funding has been used for training in preparation for a possible chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear attack.

Chesterfield County's Homeland Security gravy train might get derailed this year.

Since 1999, the county has received more than $2.28 million in federal grants from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, not including regional funds, and more than half of that-$1.66 million -was awarded in 2003 and 2004 alone.

However, due to major changes in how the federal government dispersed the grants to the states for fiscal year 2006, it looks like Chesterfield might see far less Homeland Security funds this year, or perhaps none at all.

"This is going to be a significant decrease," said Bob Spieldenner, spokesperson for the Virginia Department of Emergency Management. "These [Homeland Security] projects will have to be done on at least a regional basis. The bottom line is not every locality is going to end up getting money as they did in the past."

Virginia has received upwards of $686 million in Homeland Security grants since 1999, receiving $37 million in federal Homeland Security grants in 2004 and $24 million in 2005. But this year, the state received just $16.9 million. And though 80 percent of that $16.9 million must go directly to the localities for antiterrorism equipment and training, there will be far less to go around this year than in previous years.

In the past, Virginia would distribute Homeland Security grants to localities like Chesterfield based on population, but a new federal formula requires the state to take into account the number of potential targets in a locality. And that has caused some national furor because many localities nationwide are listing places such as petting zoos and flea markets as terrorism targets.

A June 2006 report by the inspector general of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security revealed that according to the federal guidelines, Indiana is considered as having 50 percent more terrorism targets than New York state. And Hampton Roads, which has some of the country's largest naval ports, isn't considered as a high-risk urban area, while cities like Omaha, Neb., are.

Curt M. Nellis, Chesterfield County's deputy emergency-management coordinator, oversees the county's Homeland Security funding. He said he heard a rumor that there was a potential that the county "could see nothing" in the way of Homeland Security funds this year, but that so far the county hasn't heard anything from the state. (Spieldenner, of the state's Department of Emergency Management, said no timeline has been set yet for dispersing Homeland Security money to the localities for fiscal year 2007.)

Historically, Chesterfield has received a fairly large chunk of Homeland Security money compared to the other Virginia localities (not counting Northern Virginia, which has always received disproportionately larger amounts, because of its proximity to Washington, D.C., and its high population density), Nellis says.

That's because of the county's large population - about 299,000. Nellis also said that he's not aware of any inappropriate targets being claimed by the state for Chesterfield: "We're not aware of anything ridiculous or 'out there.'"

As to whether Chesterfield County could ever conceivably be a terrorist target, Nellis said, "I couldn't answer that. We are just as much a target as any other hometown in America is. It depends on whether the person who wants to do the attack feels the county is strategically important. Some jurisdictions are probably more strategically inviting than others. I couldn't say whether Chesterfield is more appealing to a terrorist."

Despite the fact that a federal audit recently stated that Virginia did a poor job of overseeing localities' spending of Homeland Security grant funds, Nellis said that Chesterfield's funds have been spent appropriately, as required of the county by the federal grants.

"You can't just go out and buy anything you want with it," Nellis said. The federal government has "very specific guidelines on what and how we can purchase" items with the Homeland Security funds.

The biggest ticket items the county has bought with its $2.28 million include: $450,000 for a police/fire mobile command vehicle; $385,000 for a fire hazardous materials vehicle; and $450,000 for an emergency generator at Cosby High School, which is one of the county's two relocation shelters in the event of a natural disaster or terrorist attack.

Other items purchased range from portable radios for auxiliary police to Tyvek coveralls for hazmat workers, Neighborhood Watch support funds, emergency training and runway closure signs for the county airport.

The county also has received funds through a $6.5 million regional grant with four other localities (including Richmond and Henrico) that is paying for items such as regional communications systems upgrades; AM radio transmitters that can broadcast emergency instructions to the local populace in event of terrorist attacks or natural disasters; and a regional hazmat materials truck housed in Henrico.

As for the current fiscal year, Nellis said, the county isn't planning any additional projects until it knows whether the state will allocate Homeland Security funds to Chesterfield again. "We haven't put any wish lists together," he said. "We're waiting and seeing. We didn't want to spend a lot of time putting together [proposal] packages until we get some guidance from the state."