Houston area getting more Homeland Security funds
Anne Maria Kilday and Matt Stiles have the story for the Chronicle:
The federal government will boost anti-terrorism funding for the Houston area this year by about 50 percent, providing $25 million locally, officials were scheduled to announce today.
[snip]
"Between the Port of Houston, chemical and oil industries and the fact that Houston is one of the nation's largest cities, I am very pleased the (agency) increased the amount of money for the city since last year," said U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Austin, whose district includes much of west Harris County.
[snip]
The city of Houston received roughly $8 million in such grant money last year, and spent it completing a study on how to make emergency radios operable with other entities such as Harris County.
The money bought the first stages of a video-monitoring safety program designed to pipe camera feeds from roadways and other public locations to a central command center for monitoring.
In past years, the city used the money for a police helicopter, patrol car computers and suits to protect first responders from a chemical attack.
Dennis Storemski, who directs Mayor Bill White's homeland security office, said this year's funds would help buy a radio tower, more camera infrastructure and staffers at a new intelligence "fusion" center where databases from various law enforcement agencies can be analyzed.
KHOU-11 previously reported on HPD's outdated emergency radio system, when it discovered a taxpayer-funded study the city had not released to the public. The 2003 study noted that the city's aging analog radio system was inadequate and needed replacing at a cost of $150 million. Using Homeland Security funds to purchase a new radio tower would seem to check one item off that list.
It's been a while since we've heard anything more on where the city stands regarding the purchase of the (much-needed) digital emergency radio system, a system the county already has in place, but it should definitely be one of the city's top priorities.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 07/18/07 04:14 AM | Print |
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