Governor Bill Ritter and the Governor's Office of Homeland Security announced today the recipients of this year's homeland security grants. Local communities and state agencies received awards totaling $19.3 million. Click here to view the full report, the list of awardees and all 118 funded projects.
According to the Governor's Office Press Release, more than 80 percent of the funds – which come from the federal government and are administered by the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security – will go to counties and local jurisdictions throughout Colorado to support local first responders and homeland security initiatives. The projects will improve the state’s preparedness for a man-made or natural disaster.
Funded projects include community preparedness initiatives, detection and protection from explosive devices, interoperable communications capabilities, law enforcement crime data and counter-terrorism tools, planning, information sharing and collaboration capabilities, medical surge capabilities, exercise and training initiatives, and first responder equipment.
“These important grants will help local communities all around the state improve public safety and continue preparing for possible emergencies,” Gov. Ritter said. “Through partnerships like this, we are providing invaluable support to first-responders and local communities.”
One of the largest grants, $952,000, was awarded to Denver, Aurora and Colorado Springs to support and enhance an emergency Metropolitan Medical Response System.
The Governor’s Office of Homeland Security guided the selection process throughout the past six months using risk-based funding formulas and a competitive scoring process judging the quality of the projects submitted.
Almost $30 million of requests for 170 projects were submitted by state agencies and regional authorities in April. These projects were then scored by a cross jurisdictional Grant Review Committee in July. The resulting recommendations for awards for 118 projects were then approved by a Governor’s Homeland Security Senior Advisory Committee and by Gov. Ritter.
For specifics on the grant amounts for each region/program, check out the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security website at www.colorado.gov/homelandsecurity. Too, for particular information regarding the program, contact Evan Dreyer with the Governor's Office at evan.dreyer@state.co.us or at (720) 350-8370 or Mason Whitney with the Governor's Office of Homeland Security at (720) 852-6602.
