Sheriff expects rise in security threat

Jace Radke

Thursday, Sept. 30, 2004 | 11:14 a.m.

The Nevada Homeland Security Commission members are:

* Indicates new commission members

"Just from what I'm seeing and hearing and (from) my experience, my feeling is we'll probably see a change in the (terror alert) level," Young said Wednesday at a meeting of the Nevada Homeland Security Commission.

Adjutant Gen. Giles Vanderhoof, commander of the Nevada National Guard and Gov. Kenny Guinn's homeland security adviser, said he is always concerned about the security of Nevada, but hasn't seen anything to indicate that the terror alert level will be raised from yellow to orange.

"Whether we're going to go to orange or not I don't know, but it is possible," said Vanderhoof, who added that he wouldn't be surprised to see the alert level go up in some cities closer to the Nov. 7 election and New Year's. "I can say that there is no state that does a better job of sharing intelligence and working together."

Working together and producing results are the goals of the newly reformed Homeland Security Commission, led by Dr. Dale Carrison, emergency medicine director at University Medical Center.

"This is designed to be a leaner, meaner commission that is going to build on what has already been done," Carrison said.

The commission has been trimmed from 24 members to 16, and now only members of the commission will be allowed to serve on its subcommittees.

Carrison said that the commission's top priority will be to get a statewide threat assessment done.

"We need a global statewide threat assessment, so that the commission can use it as a tool in helping to decide where the federal homeland security money should go," Carrison said. "In the past we've distributed the money based on a formula and not on any facts about where the threats are."

The finance subcommittee on Tuesday recommended that money from the forthcoming fiscal year 2005 federal funds be set aside for conducting the threat assessment. The recommendation will be discussed and acted on by the entire board.

The federal government has not yet decided on the amount of money that will be available for homeland security funding for fiscal year 2005, Nevada Emergency Management Chief Frank Siracusa said.

"I wish I had a crystal ball, but we just don't know what that amount will be," Siracusa said. "There are two different bills in Congress, but I expect we'll know by the end of October or beginning of November."

In fiscal year 2004 Nevada was allocated about $36 million in homeland security funds, $26.5 million that the commission distributed, and a $10.5 million grant that went to Clark County as part of the federal Urban Area Security Initiative.

Lobbying efforts by the bigger cities around the country could push more of the 2005 dollars toward specific urban areas instead of granting large sums to the states to slice up, Young said.

Young added that however the funds shake out in the coming months he agrees with Carrison that a threat assessment for the state is needed.

"A threat assessment is critical, and it's just something that we haven't been able to get going," Young said. "It's hard to distribute money based on a feeling."