For more information: Larry Phillips (206) 296-1004
                                Cynthia Sullivan (206) 296-1002
                                Jane Hague (206) 296-1011

The Metropolitan King County Council’s Budget Committee took steps today toward accepting $1.6 million in federal funding for bioterrorism prevention and response efforts. The committee is also asking Washington state Governor Gary Locke to increase the amount of money King County receives based on established risk criteria.

“Our region has already been a target of foiled terrorist attacks. The governor’s proposed $1.6 million allocation falls well short of what King County needs as the state’s largest population center,” said Budget Committee Chair Larry Phillips. “Given our dense population, King County is more likely to be at risk from a terrorist attack than the rest of the state and will therefore require significantly more resources for preparedness planning, training, and implementation.”

“We are operating under a very tight timeframe on a critically important problem with very few resources,” said Council Chair Cynthia Sullivan. “It’s important that the state recognize the importance of building the response infrastructure and give King County the resources necessary to carry out our regional responsibilities.”

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is allocating $1.1 billion to help states strengthen their capacity to respond to bioterrorism and other public health emergencies resulting from terrorism. In the first distribution, Washington state will receive $18 million; of that, $1.6 million is slated for King County.

“The federal lawmakers my colleagues and I spoke with in Washington, D.C. understand our concerns. Now it’s a matter of getting our state distribution formula in line,” said Budget Committee Vice Chair Jane Hague. “Through the National Association of Counties, we worked hard so that Washington state would get its fair share of prevention dollars but if the money doesn’t trickle down to King County, it was all for naught.”  (For more on Homeland Security.)

Committee members agreed there are several compelling reasons why additional funds are appropriate and necessary for King County to be properly prepared to address bioterrorism:

• King County is already identified as a likely target area in a major terrorist attack.
• King County holds a large number of hospitals and the region’s only Level IV trauma unit, the County requires coordinated planning, training, and preparation activities.
• Comparable metropolitan areas have received significant funding for preparedness activities. Chicago, for instance, has received $11 million.
• Federal dollars were distributed to states based largely on the basis of population.

“We’re taking a serious look at how we can protect our region with a meager amount of money,” said Phillips. “I encourage the Governor to assist us in meeting the needs of our region.”

The funds will be used to develop comprehensive bioterrorism preparedness plans, upgrade infectious disease surveillance and investigation, enhance the readiness of hospital systems to deal with large numbers of casualties, expand public health laboratory and communications capacities, and improve connectivity between hospitals, and city, local and state health departments to enhance disease reporting.

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