Providing safety at home: Homeland Security advances local safety

Jeff Broddle | Cadillac News Mark Watkins, emergency management director for Osceola County, uses the CityWatch system to check a map where flooding recently occurred. The system is one of the major advancements funded by Homeland Security.

We have all heard the emergency warning sirens in our community. But according to at least one expert, the antiquated system is not a reliable method for alerts.

“They are almost worthless when notifying the public,” said Jerry McCoy, public information officer and vice chair for the Region No. 6 Homeland Security governing board.

Thanks to Homeland Security dollars, Osceola County has modernized its emergency communication systems, enhancing public safety on multiple levels.

But Homeland Security funding is under a new policy directing priorities to regional preparedness making local grants harder than ever to secure.

Emergencies come knocking in endless forms. No one is immune.

Spring storms can hit the area with the fury of the changing season. A tanker spill along U.S.-131 causes road closures and evacuations. An angry gunman intrudes upon school grounds. These situations have happened in the past and will happen again.

But Osceola County citizens are safer today from these and other dangers than they were just five years ago because Homeland Security has provided funding for dozens of local security initiatives.

Osceola County Emergency Management Department administers $362,576 in Homeland Security initiatives. The funding mechanism for Homeland Security was created by Congress following 9-11 to better prepare first responders in local jurisdictions. Monies have supported 13 different disciplines, including police and fire departments, pubic health agencies, emergency medical services, hospitals, government administration, public works and others.

Since 2002, when the federal dollars first became available, Osceola County’s most critical emergency preparedness needs have been met through Homeland Security grants. Some of those needs were on the county’s wish list for more than two decades.

“The most significant improvement was outfitting our EO center,” said Mark Watkins, Osceola County Emergency Management director.

The need for an emergency command center was evident as early as 1989, but funding sources were not available until Homeland Security provided $100,000 in 2004 for center technology.

Key upgrades the county has implemented include a digital radio systems allowing communication with EOCs in every Michigan county and the state command center. Public communication took a major step forward with an upgrade to the public warning and alert system. Today, any citizen can purchase a warning radio for as little as $35, which provides alerts in the event of local emergencies. CityWatch is another system Homeland Security funded for public communication. It enables authorities to define a geographic area for an automated system to telephone every home and business within the designated area with a warning message. It has already been used for gas leak emergencies and lost children, Watkins said.

“It has redefined how safe we are and what we can do,” he said.

While much has been accomplished, obtaining and spending the Homeland Security grants has been a tedious process, according to Watkins. Projects and expenditures must be justified on the local, state and federal level.

“I’ve never had anything denied,” Watkins said. “But in 80 percent of my purchases I’ve been asked for extra justification for the expenditure.”

After pouring dollars into local jurisdictions for four years, Homeland Security funding is taking a new direction.

“In the U.S. we have built local capabilities in a vacuum,” said Jerry McCoy, vice chair for Michigan Region No. 6. The region represents a 13-county district including Osceola County.

The restructured funding processes retargeted funding from local to regional jurisdictions beginning in 2006. Under the new policy, all funds spent in local jurisdictions must bolster regional emergency preparedness.

Region No. 6 received $3.5 million in funding for 2006 and will be dispersed based on the decisions of a governing board.

“Every county has a seat on the board,” McCoy said. “We also have seats for public health and bioterrorism (representatives), large cities and small cities.”

Some programs targeted for the current funding are planning, disaster exercises, law enforcement communication and improvements.

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Homeland Security

Osceola County Emergency Management Homeland Security initiatives and funding (dates indicate year Congress approved funding):