You must have been out of town a couple weeks ago because this story was all over the place.
I cant get this article to load but it talk all about the radio issue.
(here is only the beginning of the article I found somewhere on google)
http://www.theintelligencer.net/news/articles.asp?articleID=11237
Intelligencer - WHEELING Police Chief Kevin Gessler is asking all county residents to voice their concern over a proposed 85-cent rate hike in Ohio County's 911 fee. At its regular meeting Tuesday, the Ohio County Commission unanimously approved the increase ...
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this is from a google cache of the wheeling papers.... It is not what I was looking for but I posted it anyway........it references this system:
Fight Over Funds Rages
By MICHELLE BLUM
WHEELING — Allocation of anti-terrorism funds is at the root of a dispute between Wheeling Police Chief Kevin Gessler and West Virginia Homeland Security officials.
Gessler believes the state Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety misdirected funds to county emergency management agencies that instead should have gone to police and fire departments.
But Joe Thornton, deputy secretary of the state agency, said federal Department of Homeland Security officials set allocations for four categories of programs. He said allocations within those categories were made on a competitive basis.
Those categories include law enforcement, the state Homeland Security program, Emergency Management Performance Grants and Citizens Corps funding.
State Homeland Security program funding includes allocations to fire departments and the 450-megahertz radio system, which is also a matter of contention in Ohio County.
The law enforcement grant covers police and sheriffs’ departments, while emergency management performance grants cover expenses for emergency management agencies to purchase equipment and supplies. Citizen Corps funding covers programs to encourage voluntary assistance from the public in emergency situations.
Gessler has questioned the state’s $20,000 allocation to the Wheeling Police Department under the Law Enforcement Terrorism Prevention Program and a $24,500 allocation to the Wheeling Fire Department. He contends both departments received $550,000 last year and should continue receiving large sums of money.
Gessler spoke on the issue before two groups at the recent International Association of Chiefs of Police convention in Boston.
He also has taken the matter to the Northern Panhandle’s legislative delegation and Gov. Joe Manchin and plans to write to the state’s Congressional delegation.
Gessler hopes to be appointed to the International Police Chiefs’ Homeland Security Committee.
“The Wheeling Police Department is the third largest police agency in (West Virginia.) We received $20,000 — total. That’s unacceptable,” he said.
State officials made grant funding between law enforcement agencies a competitive process, which Gessler claims is in violation of U.S. Department of Homeland Security regulations. To obtain a grant under such a process “only means you’re a good grant writer — but that won’t help the citizens,” he said.
Instead, he believes the funding should be based on an assessment of critical infrastructure, potential threats, population and geographical position, factors set forth by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Gessler believes the funding that should have gone to first responders has instead gone to emergency management agencies. Those agencies are becoming part of front-line handling of major emergencies.
Gessler, who represented the West Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police in Boston, spoke on the funding discrepancy at the State Association of Chiefs of Police regional meeting and before the Homeland Security Committee.
“I’m finding out resources are being directed to emergency management, which is becoming part of the incident command system. That’s absolutely against the intention of the National Response Plan,” he said.
Gessler sees law enforcement, fire and emergency medical services personnel as first responders, while emergency management “should be in the office waiting for our call to find and direct resources to help people.”
Thornton said the state received about $17 million in Homeland Security funding this year in all of the categories, down from the $57 million received last year. The funding was split between
‘‘A lot of folks are not seeing the amounts they received last year,’’ Thornton said, noting of the $4.3 million allocated to law enforcement agencies, $7 million was requested.
Statewide for the other programs, $11.8 million was available for the State Homeland Security program, $1.9 million for the emergency management performance grants and $150,000 for citizens corps funding, he said, referring to figures available on his agency’s Web site.
Of the law enforcement funding, two other local agencies received funding — The Hancock County Commission, which received $118,000, and the Brooke County Commission, which received $50,000.
Hancock County Sheriff Richard White said the county will purchase an incident command vehicle, which would be used in Homeland Security emergencies, natural disasters, crime scene investigations, accident reconstruction and transportation of the sheriff’s department’s special response team.
Thornton said federal Homeland Security officials regulate the amount of funding in each of the categories. While he said the funding process was competitive, the grant review process was reviewed ‘‘by no less than six people,’’ who scored the applications on an objective process.
‘‘If we had more money, we would have given it out,’’ Thornton said. ‘‘We’re trying to maximize the amount we had. Unfortunately, not everybody is happy.’’
A regional approach to the funding process is being considered, he said. Each region will be provided with funding with officials determining the needs. The northern West Virginia region includes Hancock, Brooke, Ohio, Marshall, Wetzel, Doddrige, Harrison, Monongalia, Taylor and Preston counties.
Thornton and his staff are meeting with officials in each of the regions to discuss the funding proposal. The first session was held in Martinsburg Thursday. A meeting for northern West Virginia officials is set for Thursday, Nov. 9, at Lakeview Resort in Morgantown.
Gessler previously said he had requested $158,921 in Law Enforcement Terrorism Prevention program funds to be used to upgrade body armor for the police department’s special response team and for at least two drills for the department. The $20,000, he said, will not cover all the expenses for the body armor.
Section: News Posted: 11/20/2006
