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	Aug. 12, 2004 Status of Regional Homeland Security funding in King County The Department of Homeland Security has been issuing grants to the states with direction to pass money down to the local level. The King County Office of Emergency Management (KCOEM), which has been serving as the administrative agent for a regional process that includes cities, tribes, hospitals and special purpose districts, announced that over 100 contracts are being issued to organizations for projects that support the Washington State and Seattle-King County Urban Area Homeland Security Strategic Plans. All agencies involved are collaboratively working together towards the same goal of improved security for the region. Projects range from interoperable communications, being able to communicate with other responders and agencies; infrastructure protection, such as securing important buildings and water supplies; emergency responder equipment, such as gas masks, protective suits, pharmaceuticals, decontamination supplies, bomb and response vehicles; to homeland security related training and exercises. Homeland Security funding comes to the region from two sources: the State Homeland Security Program (SHSP) grants ($11M for the King County region) and the Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) grants ($10.3M is King County’s share). UASI grants are funding projects for the City of Seattle, King County and the neighboring counties of Pierce and Snohomish. King County Executive Ron Sims said, “I have made it a priority in all aspects of our disaster preparedness activities to take a regional approach. Our region has been recognized by the National 9/11 Commission as a national leader in our efforts for coordination and communication with public and private entities. I am very proud of the work our Regional Homeland Security Council is doing to apportion funding to make our broader regional community safer.” Generally speaking, Homeland Security funds are being apportioned in King County: Approximately 30 percent of the regional state homeland security grants are used for specialized and standardized equipment for the region. Since 1998 a total of $6.2M in equipment has been or will be distributed by King County to agencies in the region. An additional 36 percent of the funds are being directly passed down to the local cities, tribes, hospitals and special purpose districts (see chart below). The remaining funds are used for regional training and disaster exercises, with typically three to five percent being provided for overall grant management. The linked table (49K .pdf file) lists the cities, tribes, hospitals and special purpose districts receiving funds from the 2002, 2003 and 2004 state homeland security grants and the King County portion of the Urban Area (UASI) grant: Several of these cities and special purpose districts are overseeing projects that benefit more than their own agency or jurisdiction. For example, Overlake Hospital and the cities of Kirkland and Kent will be managing projects that involve multiple agencies and will have a sub-regional and regional impact. Additional information on the King County Regional Homeland Security process can be found online, at www.metrokc.gov/prepare. For more information, contact Eric Holdeman, King County Office of Emergency Management via pager, at 206-559-5672. Updated: Aug. 12, 2004 Executive's home Executive's news Executive's site map | E-mail the Executive King County | Executive | News | Services | Comments | Search Links to external sites do not constitute endorsements by King County. By visiting this and other King County web pages, you expressly agree to be bound by terms and conditions of the site. The details.