 April 13, 2004 Ketchikan, AK - The Ketchikan Gateway Borough is one of 23 local governments in Alaska that will receive funding under the FY 2003 Local Jurisdiction Homeland Security Grant Program according to Monday's announcement by the Office of the Governor. The Ketchikan Borough will receive $253,571, which will be used to purchase personal protective gear, such as Scott air packs, to upgrade radio communications equipment, and pay for logistical support equipment, including an incident response vehicle. "As Governor of Alaska, and as a member of the Department of Homeland Security's Senior Advisory Committee, I am pleased to see these grants going to local Alaska communities," said Governor Frank Murkowski. "These funds will allow the communities, big and small, to be better prepared to cope with homeland security threats, if and when they occur." The Alaska Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management is managing the allocation of the grant program, according to information provided in a news release. These reimbursable grants, totaling $12,386,840, are used by local governments for homeland security and emergency operations, the purchase of specialized equipment to enhance the capability of agencies to prevent, respond to, and mitigate incidents of terrorism involving the use of chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and explosive weapons and cyber attacks. The FY03 grant money was awarded to 23 eligible jurisdictions that participated in the Local Assessment Program, which have more than 1,500 people in their communities, or have specific threat concerns. These jurisdictions applied for funding to cover the costs of their specific needs. Those applications then went to a multi-agency review board for determination of allocations. For FY 2004, 30 jurisdictions
completed assessment strategies and are therefore able to receive
funding under the Homeland Security Grant Program. The FY04 Local
Jurisdiction Homeland Security Grant totals $15,326,400. During
the last week in March 2004, the multi-agency review board convened
to go over the grant applications and hopes to have award allocations
finalized in the near future.
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