QUESTIONS ASKED ABOUT SPENDING OF ANTI-TERROR FUNDS.

Byline: HARRISON SHEPPARD

Sacramento Bureau

SACRAMENTO -- As cities and states across the country await the latest round of federal funding for homeland security, some are questioning whether funds already available are being put to the best use.

Federal lawmakers and Bush administration officials are currently debating whether to increase grants for anti-terrorism and disaster-response equipment and programs.

Congress also is looking to increase the amounts that the administration is proposing.

But a recent report in USA Today found that almost one-third of federal anti-terrorism money allocated to states since Sept. 11, 2001 -- or about $5 billion out of $16 billion -- has yet to be spent.

In California, officials said the state has been allocated $1.2 billion and that all but 24 percent has been spent.

California Office of Homeland Security spokesman Chris Bertelli said it is normal for funds to still be with the federal government because it takes time for them to be spent.

"We're comfortable with California in terms of our local agency partners and their spending," Bertelli said.

The grants are given with a three-year window for spending and are awarded as a reimbursement after the local agency makes the purchase. The standard procurement and grant- making process can take many months.

All of California's funds for the 2002, 2003 and 2004 fiscal years have been reimbursed, Bertelli said. The funds for fiscal year 2005, which do not expire until 2008, have been two-thirds reimbursed, while the 2006 funding is still relatively early in the reimbursement stage.

Meanwhile, communities throughout the nation are awaiting the latest announcements of federal funding for the 2007 fiscal year.

This year, California received about $232 million in federal grants, with about $80 million going to the Los Angeles region.

Bertelli said the state has far more demand for anti-terrorism programs and equipment than available funding.

Los Angeles expects to spend every dollar made available to it for homeland security, as the need for programs and equipment outstrips available funding, said Janelle Erickson, a spokeswoman for Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.

She said the city is hoping to get an increase in the $80 million it received in the current year. One of the needs, she said, is an interoperability plan for Los Angeles County agencies that is estimated to cost at least $600 million.

"We have the nation's busiest ports and one of the busiest airports," Erickson said. "So Los Angeles certainly deserves the federal government's help in fighting terrorism."

harrison.sheppard(at)dailynews.com

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