Issue | Background | Findings | Conclusions | Recommendations | Responses | Attachments Homeland Security in San Mateo

Conclusions 1

• CL1 Page 6
  The Sheriff’s Area OES, coordinates and accounts for Homeland Security grants, and for inter-county and intra-county activities, including coordination of training, communications, and first response within and between jurisdictions of fire, law 6 enforcement and public health. The OES is in a pivotal position to work with sheriffs in other Bay area counties within the Coastside Regional Offices of Emergency Service to further promote and implement effective and cost-saving methods of agency cooperation, coordination of services, and personnel training. The Terrorism Working Group and the Terrorism Approval Authority, which has the main responsibility for San Mateo County in planning, implementation and approval for Homeland Security grants, allows input and feedback from all concerned agencies. It also appears to allow for checks and balances and some measure of flexibility in a federal program that has been described as “Byzantine” by Tom Ridge, the former Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. The Standardized Emergency Management System (SEMS) has made it comparatively easy for Sheriff’s Area OES to make the transition to NIMS, a federal prerequisite needed to qualify for grants. The ability of San Mateo County to pay for programs in advance has made a difference in the speed of acquiring Homeland Security grants. Some counties have not been able to utilize those federal funds because they could not afford to wait for reimbursement. However, the cost of operating and maintaining equipment may become a burden for first responder agencies that must rely on a constant state of readiness, and the county may need to draw down funds to keep from using general funds to cover these costs. The Sheriff’s Area OES, through the use of Homeland Security Program training funds, has managed to fill some of the gaps created by guidelines and restrictions of the Office of Domestic Preparedness (ODP) and the “Program Guidance in Federal Grants”, as well as shortfalls in federal funding. These gaps have made it difficult to use and maintain sophisticated equipment purchased through federal programs that allow for greater flexibility and efficiency on the local level. Some inter-county training has occurred, but costs can be cut by improved communication and coordination, and the sharing of resources with other counties in the Coastside Region OES administration. While communications within jurisdictions such as fire, police and public health are working very well, communications between these jurisdictions can be improved to provide more speed and efficiency. The Grand Jury believes the system of communications between jurisdictions within this county and between other counties will be improved by the acquisition of more needed sophisticated equipment as soon as possible. The Grand Jury determined that the Board of Supervisors and the San Mateo County jurisdictions involved in security have constructed a viable process for Homeland Security grants. However, the Sheriff’s Area OES stated that Homeland Security funding is minimal at best. Federal funding has provided only limited communications and information sharing among federal, state and local first responders. In addition, cuts in the 2005 grant have caused some concern about sufficient funding for the prevention of terrorism and the maintenance of “high tech” equipment. 7

No Responses Found 2

Government entities assigned to respond to this report. No response documents have been linked in our database.