Colorado Governor Ritter Announces 2009 Homeland Security Grants

August 28, 2009 -- Colorado Governor Bill Ritter today announced this year's homeland security grant awards to state agencies and communities across Colorado, providing $19.3 million to be administered by the Governor's Office of Homeland Security.

Over 80 percent of the funds awarded will go to counties and local jurisdictions throughout Colorado to support local first responders and homeland security initiatives. The funded projects will improve the state's preparedness for man-made or natural disasters.

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"Even in the face of a challenging economy, we continue to place a high premium on making Colorado's communities as safe as possible," said Gov. Bill Ritter. "This recent round of grants will make it possible for communities all across the state to make critical improvements and further strengthen their readiness for when emergencies arise."

Funded projects will include community preparedness initiatives, detection and protection from Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), interoperable communications capabilities, a Colorado First Responder Authentication Credentialing system, law enforcement crime data and counter-terrorism tools, planning activities, information sharing and collaboration capabilities, medical surge capabilities, exercise and training initiatives, and first responder equipment. A $99,538 grant award went to three Denver area non-profit institutions for security upgrades.

The Governor's Office of Homeland Security guided the process throughout the past six months using risk based funding formulas and a competitive scoring process judging the quality of the projects submitted. Almost $29 million worth of 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 were then approved by a Governor's Homeland Security Senior Advisory Committee and by the Governor this month.

The grant programs and 2009 dollar amounts are:

* Homeland Security Grant Program (HSGP): $19.2 million
* State Homeland Security Program (SHSP): $10.9 million
* Urban Areas Security Initiative (UASI): $7.1 million
* Metropolitan Medical Response System (MMRS): $964 thousand
* Citizens Corp Program (CCP): $248 thousand
* Denver UASI Nonprofit Security Grant: $99,538

Total Grant Funds for Colorado: $19.3 million

Broken down by geographic area, total HSGP awards are as follows:

* City and County of Denver UASI: $5.642 million
* North Central Region: $2.554 million
* South Central Region: $1.211 million
* North East Region: $1.153 million
* North West Region: $999.8 thousand
* San Luis Valley Region: $592 thousand
* South Region: $693 thousand
* South East Region: $466 thousand
* South West Region: $783.2 thousand
* West Region: $479 thousand
* Local Agency Total: $14.573 million
* State Agency Total: $3.653 million
* Metropolitan Medical Response System: $964 thousand

Descriptions of the nine all hazards regions are available on the Governor's Office of Homeland Security website at www.colorado.gov/homelandsecurity. Contacts for the nine all hazards emergency management regions are also available on this website.

Source: Colorado Governor