Officials: Homeland Security Equipment May Not Be Used

CINCINNATI - Millions of dollars worth of equipment designed to respond to a terrorist attack could go unused because of a new federal rule change that sticks local governments with the tab of maintenance and repairs, local officials said.
   
The Cincinnati and northern Kentucky area have collected $60 million worth of armored vehicles, trucks, biohazard suits and other equipment over the last decade. A new rule change by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which notified local officials last month, has shifted the cost of maintaining the equipment to already struggling local governments.
   
“It creates all sorts of problems,“ said Hamilton County Commissioner David Pepper. “It’s either a massive cost shift to local governments, or it means equipment will go to waste because we can’t maintain it.“
   
Pepper said the rule change doesn’t make sense because local governments are still able to buy new equipment with federal money, so there’s no incentive to maintain current equipment with local money.
   
A local agency could buy a new $9,000 air monitor, but the rule would prohibit it from buying a $150 replacement sensor to keep the monitor running.
   
“It’s government at its worst,“ said Ed Dadosky, a district fire chief and homeland security coordinator in Cincinnati. “This is really hamstringing our ability to keep this up and running.“
   
Dadosky advocates that FEMA stop allowing the purchase of new equipment and help out with paying the bill for maintenance costs of existing equipment, which he said would come to at least $1 million a year.
   
If local government is faced with that cost, statewide communication systems, computer software, a license-plate recognition program and hundreds of vehicles could be jeopardized, Dadosky said.
   
Federal officials are reviewing the rule change to see if the situation can be improved. They said the rule change only clarifies what has been in place for years and that local governments shouldn’t be expecting help from the federal government year after year.
   
“FEMA is currently undertaking a thorough review of how our grants system can better serve our first responders,“ said Brad Carroll, an agency spokesman.
   
One area lawmaker is already moving ahead with a plan to get the rule change reversed.
   
“To change the rules in the middle of the game, I don’t think that’s fair,“ said U.S. Rep. Steve Driehaus, a Democrat from Cincinnati who is co-sponsoring a bill in Congress to require FEMA to help with maintenance costs. “We need to live up to our promises.“
   
If the cost shift remains, there are concerns about how large and small communities, and urban and rural areas, will share the costs. Smaller communities may decide to no longer participate, rupturing a system that is designed to be linked together.
   
“We are only as safe as we are able to build the safety net,“ said Kathy Crandall, Franklin County’s homeland security director. “If you’ve got one little gap, they’re going to exploit it.“

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