NO HELP FOR SECURITY SINCE 9-11 MAYORS STILL WAIT FOR FUNDS.

Byline: Bill Hillburg Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON - The official praise heaped on first responders since 9-11 has a hollow ring for local city and law enforcement officials who have yet to see the billions of homeland defense dollars promised by Congress and the White House.

``We're on the front lines, but so far we haven't been able to get any real recognition in terms of financial support,'' said Los Angeles Mayor James Hahn, who estimates the city has spent $70 million on added homeland security responsibilities since 9-11.

``We've had to pay for a lot of extra security in a tough budget year. The airlines got a $5 billion bailout almost immediately after 9-11. When is it going to be our turn?''

``All we have gotten so far is little bits and pieces,'' said Long Beach Mayor Beverly O'Neill, whose Police Department alone has spent an estimated $2.5 million on extra security for at the Port of Long Beach, the city's airport and other key facilities.

She and Hahn have led a lobbying effort for federal first-responder funding through their work with the United States Conference of Mayors.

A recent USCM study estimated that, by the end of the year, the nation's cities will have spent an additional $2.6 billion on added security since 9-11.

``Our first priority is compensation for the money we've already spent,'' said Los Angeles County Supervisor Don Knabe, who in October was appointed to a new State and Local Senior Advisory Committee by Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge. He estimated that the county is spending an added $15 million per year on sheriff and fire department efforts related to homeland security.

Knabe, whose 4th District includes such key installations as the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles and Los Angeles International Airport, said a coordinated federal, state and local communications network serving all California first responders is also a must.

Political and bureaucratic wrangling have frozen $5 billion in first-responder funds that were proposed early this year by Bush. The total includes $3.5 billion in grants and $1.5 billion included in an anti-terrorism supplemental spending bill.

Bush originally advocated funneling the money to the states through the Federal Emergency Management Agency, arguing that his format would keep members of Congress from turning the anti-terrorism effort into a piggy bank for pet pork barrel projects. Bush later gave up on the FEMA proposal and embraced the idea of having the new Department of Homeland Security distribute funds to first responders. That new agency is expected to take months to fully organize.

Funding plans also fell victim to budget and policy battles between the Republican-controlled House and Democrat-controlled Senate. Last month, after the GOP regained a Senate majority in the elections, the White House and Republican lawmakers opted to delay consideration of most 2002-03 budget bills, including those covering homeland security, until the GOP takes full power in January.

Mayors and other local officials were stunned on Dec. 4, when Assistant Attorney General Deborah J. Daniels, citing the budget impasse, announced that the Justice Department would not release $651 million, already earmarked for local projects, until the money bills become law next year.

The cutoff included first responder grants as well as money for the Community Oriented Policing Services program, which helps local departments hire, train and equip additional police officers.

Rep. Howard Berman, D-Mission Hills, a leading advocate of COPS funding for the Los Angeles Police Department, called the Justice Department decision ``an outrageous example of executive incompetence.''

Berman argued that, under the continuing budget resolutions that have kept the government running since the budget year began Oct. 1, a portion of the money for first responders and COPS grants should be released.

``We're already a quarter of the way through this budget year, so we should release 25 percent of the money,'' said Berman. ``All we're doing is hurting people who will have to respond to terrorism, and that is doing real harm. This official praise for first responders amounts to great rhetoric and no performance.

Hahn said that COPS funding has been crucial to his efforts over the past year to increase LAPD's ranks to a full complement of 10,000 officers. ``We've had a terrible spike in murders and gang activity,'' he said. ``We can't wait months for help from Washington. We need it now.''

Greg Schirmer, spokesman for the Long Beach Police Department, said more than $15 million in COPS grants since 1995 have enabled the city to add 76 officers to its 950-member force.

``The program has had a big impact,'' he said. ``But we need continued support. Without COPS help, the city is responsible for the salaries of those officers.''

Knabe cited recent promises from Ridge to press for quick passage of the budget and speedy allocation of first responder funds when Congress convenes on Jan. 7. Incoming Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss., has pledged to have the budget passed by the time Bush gives his State of the Union speech on Jan. 21.

But Lott's promise, and his ability to deliver on it, may have become hindered amid the controversy over remarks he made at a recent 100th birthday fete for retiring Sen. Strom Thurmond, R-S.C.

Knabe said he shares concerns by Hahn, O'Neill and other mayors over plans to distribute all first responder money through state governments. They favor a block grant-style program that would give money directly to local governments.

``Secretary Ridge shares our concerns,'' said Knabe. ``If the money goes to the states, he wants to make sure it's a straight pass-through to local governments and not a format where badly needed dollars are used for state administrative fees.''

The freeze in funding has also been frustrating for Rep. Jerry Lewis, R- Redlands, and his Inland Empire constituents who are seeking to gird their fast-growing region against the threat of a terrorist attack.

``We police and fire professionals have a distinct bias for action - we don't have a lot of patience with politics,'' said Redlands Police Chief Jim Bueermann, who is seeking federal money for a regional emergency communications system to serve East Valley communities in San Bernardino County. ``We want to access grant money as quickly as possible and to get ready in case of a terrorism emergency.''

Bueermann also said that improvement is still needed in coordination with federal homeland defense efforts.