Editorial: Mistakes we simply can’t afford

Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2004 | 9 a.m.

Last week, while he was in Washington for the U.S. Conference of Mayors' annual meeting, Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman appeared on CNN to talk about homeland security issues. Goodman told Wolf Blitzer that he was concerned how homeland security money is allocated, noting that it often doesn't go directly to the first responders. He said the money first goes to the state, which then sends it to the county, which then distributes it to the cities. Goodman said "the system isn't working at all." We, too, have concerns with using state government as a middleman in the disbursement of homeland security funding, but unfortunately the mayor didn't stop there.

Goodman went on to tell Blitzer that the state had to return $600,000 to the federal government in homeland security funding because it hadn't been spent, money that he says the city "dearly needs." That's a serious claim by the mayor, but it's not holding up well under scrutiny. When a Sun reporter asked state homeland security officials about Goodman's statement, they said they had no knowledge of any money being returned. So what gives? A little background is in order. Goodman met with Rep. Jim Gibbons, R-Nev., while he was in Washington, and Gibbons' staff says that the congressman shared the importance of what happens if federal homeland security dollars aren't spent, which is that the state loses the money. What's still unclear, however, is how Goodman arrived at the $600,000 figure. And as the Sun's Sito Negron reported Monday, neither Gibbons' chie f of staff nor his spokeswoman is saying that the congressman told the mayor that the state already has returned any fundin! g. Adding to the confusion is that the mayor's spokeswoman says that "his comments are consistent to what was said in the meeting."

Las Vegans are skittish about the possibility of terrorism, especially since our city regularly is mentioned as a possible target when terrorism alerts are elevated, so last week's false alarm about the loss of funding doesn't help. It also doesn't help our standing with federal homeland security officials, either, when they see serious accusations involving funding that subsequently can't be proved. This is the kind of confusion that, quite frankly, we can do without.