When Homeland Security funds finally disappear, Island County will be adequately positioned to carry on without the federal aid.

David L. Hollett, Island County Department of Emergency Management deputy director, said grant money from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has been dwindling. The county received $305,000 in 2004. This year it has just over $110,000, some of which will be passed to the city of Oak Harbor.

“That’s a big drop from the previous year. We knew from the get go that this money wasn’t going to last forever,” Hollett said. “Every year we’re losing more money.”

The grant program was established after the DHS was activated at the beginning of 2003. Funding was made available to states, which in turn divided up the money between regions.

“Snohomish County is the largest county around in our region and was named regional coordinator for Region 1,” Hollett said. “There are nine Homeland Security regions in the state.”

A regional Homeland Security group, of which Hollett is a member, meets monthly to discuss how best to allocate and spend the money. Proposed projects must be thoroughly justified in an exhaustive and lengthy bureaucratic process. In the past, Island County has used the grant money for rescue equipment, radio gear, software upgrades, and an improved communication link.

Hollett said the grant program was established to help with National Incident Management System standardization, a daunting process. NIMS was developed to help responders from different jurisdictions and disciplines work together more cohesively to respond to natural disasters and emergencies, including acts of terrorism. The system’s benefits include a unified approach to incident management; standard command and management structures; and emphasis on preparedness, mutual aid and resource management.

“That program created extra work for the local jurisdictions,” Hollett said. “The initial focus was on counter-terrorism. The government came up with grants to help us out; to subsidize the local jurisdictions.”

With grant money decreasing more each year, Island County is focusing on program sustainment, Hollett said. Every jurisdiction is authorized to use a portion of the funding to pay the salary of one, full-time employee. Mike Simmons was brought in three years ago to serve as the emergency planner tasked with handling the Homeland Security side of emergency management. The deputy director said Simmons’ job is safe.

“We’re going to use the money to keep Mike on,” he said. “We’ll also use it for training, exercises and equipment.”

Simmons has received his certification for teaching this year’s round of NIMS-required training courses. He will not only teach the classes on Whidbey Island, but region-wide.

“This year’s training is what a number of first responders and senior officials need to have to be compliant with Homeland Security guidelines,” Hollett said.

The courses effectively synthesize all of the mandated training and experience trainees have gained in the past few years.

“It ties everything together and makes them use the experience,” he said.

Less money available to the jurisdictions will likely equate to the funding being doled out based on risk levels.

“They used to just spread the money out evenly among all the jurisdictions,” Simmons said. “Now they’re looking at a risk-based program where places with higher risk get more money. That’s what I think Congress is pushing for, but we haven’t felt the effects yet.”

The county has already completed a Critical Infrastructure Assessment with representatives from the various jurisdictions and a cross section of local communities. The process has been invaluable, Hollett said.

“We hire a contractor that comes in, gets folks of Island County together, and we go through this process of identifying what’s critical to the county for survival after a significant event,” he said.

Once the grant funds become limited, and if the system shifts to risk-based, the county will be equipped with extensive documentation to justify its need for projects.

“It’s not just us saying we need this money,” the deputy director said. “We’ve got a group of people together who are saying collectively that we need this money. From businesses and the banks, to the first responders, to the naval air station, to the water and diking districts, we all went through this process. We can use that background as documentation.”