Getting our money’s worth of security?

Gazette Editorial Board

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The primary purpose of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, created in response to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, is to coordinate several government agencies that strive to keep Americans and this country safe, especially from terrorism.

DHS also is the third-largest Cabinet-level department with an annual budget of more than

$55 billion.

Iowa, like other states, has been the recipient of federal readiness grants over the past nine years - including $158 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, one of the agencies under the DHS umbrella. And Iowa has been spending it - 88 percent of its FEMA allocation, second only to South Dakota in the percentage of its share, according to a Gazette investigation published Sunday.

One big question, of course, is whether that money was well spent. The Gazette report found enough troubling information to raise some doubt. Tracking 24 grant requests from Iowa agencies between 2002 and 2006 to see how the purchases were used uncovered numerous cases of equipment lost, poor record-keeping and incomplete knowledge of what the state has available to help prevent and respond to disasters.

That's not to say that most of the money was misused. State Homeland Security officials wisely encouraged counties to get multihazard equipment that can be used for everyday incidents, too. For example, some counties got decontamination showers for use during a chemical warfare incident, but they are helpful during police meth lab busts.

Nonetheless, if The Gazette's findings are any indication of the big picture involving thousands of purchases, state Homeland Security officials have much work to do.

David Zahn, a Cedar Rapids police investigator who was the city's public safety commissioner when DHS was created, also cast a shadow on the readiness grant process, saying “everybody was applying for everything under the son. Was it the best use of money? No.”

The high level of fear and urgency to protect Americans in the first months after 9/11 no doubt led to some hasty, less-than-desirable decisions on the distribution of federal grants.

However, that's no excuse for states not keeping better track of what they bought with the money and how it's being used.

Iowa Homeland Security spokesman John Benson acknowledged gaps in record-keeping and that missing gear could hamper future disaster responses. So what is your department going to do to fix the problems? And ensure our money is well spent?

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