Washington — Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge assured mayors Wednesday that his anti-terrorism plan would include provisions to help cities shoulder some but not anywhere near all the costs of additional police officers, equipment and training.
Offering few details, Ridge gave a broad preview of the strategy being designed by his office, parts of which were to be announced today by President Bush.
The plan and Bush's budget that is being unveiled next month will offer "unprecedented support" for cities to pay for police, firefighters and emergency medical technicians, Ridge told about 300 mayors gathered for the U.S. Conference of Mayors' annual winter meeting.
That came as good news to the mayors' group, which on Wednesday released a new tally of what cities are spending to bolster themselves against future attacks. Based on a sample of 192 towns, the conference estimated that the nationwide cost to cities of additional terrorism-related security will hit $2.6 billion by the end of 2002. Just by the end of last year, the bill already had totaled more than $525 million in overtime for police and firefighters, training, new equipment and other needs, the survey found.
An earlier survey sponsored by the conference pegged the total amount much lower, at $1.5 billion.
"Tightening security in the aftermath of September 11th threatens to break the bank for many cities' budgets," said New Orleans Mayor Marc Morial, president of the conference.
"This unprecedented support that I'm talking to you about in this year's budget isn't a one-year-and-out initiative. This is a major investment," Ridge said. "We are very mindful of the need to get this money to you."
At the same time, Ridge acknowledged the money would only go toward future costs and would not meet cities' entire need. For the budget year beginning Oct. 1, Bush was expected to request roughly double the current $13 billion for a variety of homeland security efforts.
The president will propose flexibility for cities to use some funds toward overtime expenses one of their largest cost categories, Ridge said. But the majority of the money directed toward cities will be earmarked for such items as new personnel, hazardous materials equipment, bioterrorism training and emergency communication systems, he said.
The president also will ask Congress for more money for research into infectious diseases and to help prepare hospitals for a bioterror attack, Ridge said.
And a new system for issuing terrorism threat warnings also is being developed, Ridge said. He promised it would do a better job of sharing information on the intelligence that causes the government to issue the alerts, the lack of which has been a top complaint of local law enforcement officials.
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