Thirty-one cities across the country won’t receive anti-terror funding because of cuts to the Department of Homeland Security’s FY 2011 budget. The cities previously had received Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) grants, which help local emergency management agencies in communities at risk of terrorist attacks.

No longer eligible for UASI grants are Tucson, Ariz.; Sacramento, Calif.; Jacksonville, Fla.; Honolulu; Milwaukee, Wis.; and Oklahoma City; among others. (See complete list below.)

“We don’t know what we’re going to do [without funding],” Milwaukee Fire Chief Mark Rohlfing said. Milwaukee used the funds to help pay for its Emergency Management and Homeland Security office, staffed by a director, two police officers and a fire-department battalion chief. “It’s been a great help to prepare our city and the southeast area of our state,” he said.

New York, Chicago, Boston, San Francisco and seven other Tier-1 cities will share $540 million of FY 2011 funding. Phoenix, St. Louis, Seattle and 17 other Tier-2 cities will share another $121 million.

Rohlfing said the UASI money helped prepare and support the department’s heavy-rescue team. “We couldn’t afford to purchase the equipment and be prepared in the event of a domestic disaster or terrorist event,” he said. “It really leaves a significant hold in the area of emergency management. We are the center of commerce in Wisconsin, and with an ocean-going port on the banks of Lake Michigan, there are risks.”

The federal government created the UASI grant program after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Initially, only New York City, Washington, Chicago and three other metropolitan cities were eligible for grant money, but since 2008, more than 60 cities have been awarded anti-terror funding grants.

Oklahoma Fire Chief Keith Bryant was notified of the funding cut while attending the Metropolitan Chiefs Conference in Charlotte, N.C. “We had plenty to talk about at the dinner that night,” he said. “The chiefs would say, ‘Well if you got cut, I probably got cut too from UASI.’ … Anybody keeping their ear to the ground knew there would be some reductions.”

Bryant said his department was fortunate that the previous grants had helped the region purchase equipment and put into place a number of programs that were currently in a maintenance mode. “The good news is we completed a lot of projects we initially identified [as concerns],” he said.

No Longer Eligible for FY 2011 UASI Funds:

• Tucson, Ariz.
• Sacramento, Calif.
• Oxnard, Calif.
• Bakersfield, Calif.
• Bridgeport, Conn.
• Hartford, Conn.
• Jacksonville, Fla.
• Honolulu
• Indianapolis
• Louisville, Ky.
• New Orleans
• Baton Rouge, La.
• Kansas City, Mo.
• Omaha, Neb.
• Buffalo, N.Y.
• Rochester, N.Y.
• Albany, N.Y.
• Syracuse, N.Y.
• Columbus, Ohio
• Toledo, Ohio
• Oklahoma City
• Tulsa, Okla.
• San Juan, Puerto Rico
• Providence, R.I.
• Memphis, Tenn.
• Nashville, Tenn.
• San Antonio
• El Paso, Texas
• Austin, Texas
• Salt Lake City
• Milwaukee