Goodman’s claim of lost funds ‘perplexing’

Jace Radke and Suzanne Struglinski

Friday, Jan. 23, 2004 | 11:07 a.m.

Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman was mistaken Thursday when he said on national television that Nevada had returned $600,000 in homeland security funds, state officials said.

Goodman, who talked about homeland security funding with CNN's Wolf Blitzer while in Washington for the U.S. Conference of Mayors, told Blitzer that the system for allocating money to cities is not working.

"What we're concerned about is that the monies that Congress has appropriated for homeland securities is going to the state," Goodman said in the interview. "And then it filters down from the feds to the state to the county. And then ultimately to the city, when the cities are basically the first responders to any emergency. So the system isn't working at all."

Goodman then went on to describe what he called a "glitch" that he said had occurred in Nevada.

"Speaking to our congressional delegations yesterday, I was advised of $600,000 that the state has received that the city so dearly needs was returned, because the state didn't have a particular purpose to send it on to the city," Goodman said.

But state officials said they had no knowledge of $600,000 in Homeland Security money that had or would have to be given back to the federal government.

Kamala Carmazzi, deputy chief of the state's Emergency Management Division, said that her department had not given any homeland security grant money back to the government.

"We're perplexed by the mayor's comments," said Carmazzi, who was in Las Vegas for a meeting of the Nevada Homeland Security Commission on Thursday. "The state hasn't turned back $600,000. I can't speak for other agencies, but I know the Division of Emergency Management has not returned any homeland security money."

The Division of Emergency Management is the point of contact for both Department of Justice domestic preparedness grants and funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agency allocated for homeland security.

Jerry Bussell, state homeland security adviser, said he called state Emergency Management Chief Frank Siracusa as soon as he heard about Goodman's statements.

"Frank Siracusa repeatedly assured me that what was said is absolutely incorrect," Bussell said.

Carmazzi said she didn't know what monies Goodman could be referring to, but did mention a 1999 FEMA grant that was for $60,000. The grant was not related to homeland security, but Nevada never received the money because local agencies missed deadlines for the funds, Carmazzi said.

Rep. Jim Gibbons, R-Nev., met with Goodman on Wednesday and talked to him about homeland security funding, Gibbons' spokeswoman Amy Spanbauer said. They discussed fiscal year 2003 phase one funding that totaled $6.7 million for the state.

Spanbauer said the congressman told Goodman that Nevada has only obligated about $300,000 of the $6.7 million in federal homeland security funds made available to the state for phase one of fiscal year 2003.

"The conversation was not in anyway against the state of Nevada," she said. "He just said that there is Homeland Security funding out there for the state."

Neither Goodman nor his spokeswoman, Elaine Sanchez, returned repeated calls Thursday night and Friday morning seeking clarification of Goodman's statements.

The fiscal year 2003 funding became available in the spring 2003 and is going through the process of filtering down to local agencies, Carmazzi said.

"The way it works is the money sits at the federal level and when we get reimbursement notices from the local agencies we send it along to the office of domestic preparedness to get the funds released" Carmazzi said. "The 2003 monies only became avaliable in the spring, so what you have right now is the agencies out spending money, and then when they file for reimbursement grant funds will be released to them."

Bussell said that all of the 2003 funds have been divided up and allocated to various counties and state agencies, and that, "the money has been approved and is in the pipeline."

Since fiscal year 1999 Nevada has received more than $30.2 million in federal homeland security funds, including $24.6 million delivered in two phases during fiscal year 2003.

Nevada is scheduled to receive $26.5 million more this year, and the Nevada Homeland Security Commission will recommend to the governor and the state Division of Emergency Management how that money should be divided. In addition Clark County is also in line for a separate $10.5 million grant in 2004 as part of the Urban Area Security Initiative.