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?.A -2 DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY TO DEVELOP TOOLS FOR "PREPAREDNESS HOMELAND SECURITY SURVEY RESPONSE DUE JULY 28 ASSESSMENT" In a visit to the National Emergency Training Center in Emmitsburg, Maryland, last week, Homeland Defense Secretary Tom Ridge dis- cussed the development of a comprehensive national process for measuring preparedness to react and respond to terrorist attacks. As part of the process, the Department of Homeland secu- rity (DHS) will be asking local jurisdictions to conduct a self assessment of their needs and capabilities. The bulk of Homeland Security funding has been allocated to local govemment, through the Urban Areas Security Initiative and other federally funded programs, to fund first responders and other public safety operations. The DHS has already run a series of exer- cises in an effort to evaluate levels of prepared- ness across jurisdictions and within specific agencies tabbed to help prevent, respond to or recover from terrorist threats. A major exercise, TOPOFF 2, was conducted in May, with the cities of Seattle and Chicago acting as staging grounds. Results of that exercise found 120 participating agencies to have a high level of preparedness. Los Angeles and San Francisco are also part of the Urban Areas Security Initiative, and received $12.42 and $10.74 million, respectively, in grants last April. Preparedness at the state and local level is being assessed, initially by an identification of critical tasks and self - appraisal of response capabilities and needs, followed by an evaluation of preparedness levels across jurisdictions. The DHS is also preparing a series of Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation documents to provide local and state agencies doctrine and advice on the planning, design and conduct for future preparedness exercises. The U.S. House of Representatives passed the FY 2004 Homeland Security Appropriations bill on June 24, which allocates much of its $29.4 billion budget to local govemment, either directly to cities from the DHS or through state govemment. The Director of Homeland Security for the State of Califomia has requested the help of the League and California Cities in estimating the costs of local homeland security measures. The League, the California State Association of Coun- ties and the Public Policy Institute of California are working together to monitor and assess local activities in this area. This week a survey was sent to city managers and city clerks in non - manager cities requesting information on home- land security efforts in their communities. The information will be used to make a stronger case for federal support for state and local efforts. A response from every city is essential to clearly demonstrate what steps cities have taken already, what the financial toll has been, and what gaps are left. To avoid duplicate returns from the same qty, the survey should go to the city official that has taken the lead in coordinating your security efforts. The survey may be found online in the League's Website at www.cacities.org/publicsafety. Since the National League of Cities (NLC) has offered to compile the survey results, com- pleted forms should be mailed to NLC. Members are asked to complete the sur- vey by July 28. State officials, and especially federal officials, are eager to gather this informa- tion. Your help in completing and returning the survey promptly will help generate support for additional homeland security funding. If you have questions regarding the survey, contact Dr Christopher W. Hoene, Research Manager at the National League of Cities, at (202) 626 -3172. For information regarding the usemame or pass code for online entry, contact Frances Madame, policy analyst at the League, at medemaft5cacities.ora. Thank you for your assistance with this impor- tant project! PAGE 2 /PRIORITY FOCUS Visit the League's Official Web Site -- www.cacities.org