CITIES STILL AREN'T PREPARED.

Byline: Lisa Friedman Washington Bureau

Los Angeles and other cities in the United States are only marginally more prepared for a terrorist attack than they were on Sept. 11, 2001, municipal leaders from around the nation told congressional Democrats on Tuesday.

Los Angeles Councilman Jack Weiss, a former assistant U.S. attorney and the council's point man on urban anti-terrorism efforts, said the city has up to $150 million in immediate homeland security needs. But it has gotten only $40 million from the federal government.

The city spends about $1 million a week on overtime pay and creating security perimeters every time the nation's terror alert goes from yellow to orange - not including Los Angeles International Airport, which spends $1.5 million a week during orange alerts.

``Either way you slice it, these are extraordinary needs we have in Los Angeles that have not been met by the administration's proposals.''

Speaking before the Democratic Task Force on Homeland Security, Weiss and other city officials from California to New Jersey complained that the White House has not backed up its promises with real funding.

Mayors told of badly needed fire trucks still not purchased, understaffed police departments and emergency communications systems that still cannot function between agencies - all because of a lack of funding.

``Funding for first responders is the highest priority,'' said Homeland Security Department spokeswoman Rachel Sunbarger, noting that the agency last week sent $119 million in grant funding to Sacramento.

Municipal officials said the funding has been slow, insufficient and tied up by bureaucracy.

Rep. Joe Baca, D-San Bernardino, said Congress must demand that the federal government pay back to cities the costs of protecting its citizens.

``I don't know what you can do, because none of you can do anything without the funding,'' Baca told local officials. ``Each and every one of our cities has been strapped. When are we going to be reimbursed?''

Among the top requests from city leaders was a plea for direct funding. Since 9-11, the Department of Homeland Security has been awarding grants to the states. The states keep 20 percent of that money and dole out the rest to local cities and counties.

Sunbarger said she does not expect that process to change.

``The Department of Homeland Security works with states. We have coordination at this time, and we're getting it to the states, and the states get it to the localities,'' she said.

Weiss said the White House has to find a way to make sure target-rich regions like Los Angeles get more.

Lisa Friedman, [phone]

lisa.friedman(at)langnews.com