Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Interoperability funds limited

From: [email-masked]
Date: Wed, 21 May 2003 17:36:10 -0400

Interoperability funds limited
BY Dibya Sarkar
May 8, 2003

Two federal agencies are finishing plans for administering several
million dollars earmarked for communications interoperability
nationwide, according to a federal official. But he warned that the
application process will not be open to all jurisdictions.

The Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS), housed within
the Justice Department, has nearly $66 million for interoperability from
the fiscal 2003 omnibus and supplemental spending plans, said Tim Quinn,
chief of staff for the COPS Office.  He added that the Federal Emergency
Management Agency, now part of the Homeland Security Department, has "a
like amount [of money] that they're going to be administering" for
interoperability.

"We're working very closely together to determine how we're going to
award those funds in what will probably be &hellip; a targeted
solicitation," he said during a Webcast interview aired today by the
U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM).

The Webcast was intended to help municipal officials understand how the
COPS Office will administer about $200 million in new grant funding this
fiscal year for hiring and overtime. However, the combined
interoperability funds appeared to pique the interest of viewers, who
asked several questions via the Web.

"It is vital that not only law enforcement but also emergency response,
including fire and emergency medical staff, be able to communicate with
each other -- not only within one given jurisdiction but with others who
might be in that particular region where they have mutual aid
agreements," Quinn said.

Because the funds are limited, the application process will not be open
to the 17,000 law enforcement agencies across the country, he said. The
awarding agencies will draw up a list of cities or regions that will be
invited to apply for grants. Quinn said FEMA is also asking governors to
select jurisdictions and invite them to apply. He said they want to
ensure the projects described in applications are realistic and able to
benefit from the additional funding.

"We don't want to spread the money out too far so that it will not have
an impact," he said. "But we want to make sure we're getting those funds
to as many people as we can get them to ... in a way that's helpful and
supportive of the technology programs that may already be underway out
there to address issues of interoperability."

Quinn said the program might be finalized by the time the USCM has its
annual conference in Denver in early June. He said his office also
provides a step-by-step technology guide to help law enforcement
agencies ask vendors the right questions before purchasing equipment and
systems.

He added that there's another $188 million within the COPS budget
earmarked for technology that is not part of these interoperability
grants.

The COPS Office, credited with hiring nearly 100,000 police and school
resource officers and providing training and technology equipment to law
enforcement agencies, has been widely hailed by state and local
officials as an important law enforcement funding resource.
But much to the disappointment of state and local officials, the Bush
administration has steadily reduced funding for it and several other law
enforcement programs — to the point of elimination.

http://www.fcw.com/geb/articles/2003/0505/web-cops-05-08-03.asp

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