Gov. Kathleen Sebelius will ask the state Homeland Security Council to examine how Kansas spends its federal homeland security grant money and whether it could be more cost-effective.

Sebelius’ request was in response to a Feb. 26 Journal-World article that examined the state’s contract with homeland security equipment vendor Fisher Scientific Inc. of Houston.

The story showed that the company charges local emergency management agencies high fees when buying equipment, using limited taxpayer funds and frustrating local officials.

“Clearly, we want to always find ways to increase efficiency and make it possible for local first responders to get the equipment they need at a good price,” Sebelius said in a prepared statement.

The council, a group charged with recommending changes to homeland security response and administration in the state, does not have a meeting scheduled but will address the issue at the earliest opportunity, according to Sebelius’ office.

The group includes more than a dozen administrators from various branches of state government, including the Attorney General’s Office and the Kansas Division of Emergency Management.

Some local emergency management officials have complained about the Kansas Highway Patrol’s management of the program, saying it makes the process of procuring some equipment more difficult than necessary.

Next week, the Legislative Division of Post-Audit is scheduled to release its report about the Fisher Scientific contract after a limited-scope, 200-hour review of the contract.

The review was slated to look at two issues: the fees Fisher Scientific charges the state, and whether the contract was bid competitively according to state law.

Sen. Les Donovan, R-Wichita, is chairman of the post-audit committee. Once the committee sees the audit, it has authority to expand the audit and make other recommendations, though Donovan said the committee rarely expanded a limited-scope audit into a full-scale one.