Boston Mayor Martin Walsh announced Wednesday that $17.7 million in security funds allocated by the Department of Homeland Security will go to the Metro Boston Homeland Security Planning Region, according to a Wednesday press release.
The region benefiting from these funds includes towns and cities such as Boston, Brookline, Cambridge, Chelsea, Everett, Quincy, Revere, Somerville and Winthrop. The release detailed the intended use for this funding, which is part of the Urban Areas Security Initiative.
“UASI program funding addresses the unique multi-disciplinary planning, organization, equipment, training and exercise needs of high-threat, high-density urban areas, and assists them in building capabilities to prevent, protect against, respond to, and recover from threats or acts of terrorism,” the release stated.
Mayor Walsh said in the release that the funding allows for continued security for Boston.
“I am extremely proud of the strong partnership between the City of Boston and the Department of Homeland Security,” Walsh said in the release. “The City of Boston has always placed a premium on the safety and security of our first responders, and this grant funding provides critical resources and ensures long term resiliency.”
Chris Coakley, spokesperson for the Office of Emergency Management, praised the strong partnership between Boston and Homeland Security.
“The City of Boston has had a wonderful relationship with DHS,” Coakley said. “That money is going to go towards training, target hardening, you name it. First responders are really going to be taken care of with that money.”
While Coakley said receiving a sum of money this large is a normal occurrence for the City of Boston, this year’s allocation from the DHS is a decrease from last year’s $18 million funding.
“The Department of Homeland Security took $1.3 [million] out of the major cities in the UASI nation,” Coakley said. “What they do with that money is they gave it to the nonprofits, so it’s actually schools, hospitals. They can apply for that money.”
Even after the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings, “the funding through the Department of Homeland Security has remained steady,” Coakley followed up in an email.
After the Department of Homeland Security allocates the money, according to Coakley, it’s up to the towns and cities in the Metro Boston area to decide what they want to do with it. Each town has a Jurisdictional Point of Contact and a subcommittee that votes and decides where the money goes.
“So over the next two months, we’ll reach out and we’ll kind of coordinate the meetings with the JPOC members and just have to flame out what they’re going to be looking for,” Coakley said. “We need radios, we need a camera system, we need K-9.”
According to the Wednesday release, previous funding from the DHS has helped run important programs, such as Urban Shield Boston, “the largest first responder exercise conducted in New England.”
Several Boston residents were excited to hear about how this money will be sued within the City of Boston.
Janet Campbell, 61, of Back Bay, said she was glad that first responders will get the funding they need.
“I’d actually like to see first responders get paid more,” she said. “I think both police officers and firefighters in the City of Boston are underpaid, especially for the jobs that they do, same with the EMTs.”
Tom Rizzo, 50, of South End, said he’s pleased the money is going to a deserving cause.
“Well, that sounds like a good amount of money,” he said. “I would certainly say it sounds reasonable, and all I care is that it gets put to good use, that first responders get the training.”
For Alice Liao, 29, of Downtown Boston, news of the DHS funding raised more questions about how Boston’s funding compares with that of other major cities.
“Where does Boston lie in comparison to these other major cities,” she asked. “I think that it’s good that the federal government is providing some money in terms of support for more security, et cetera, but I would be more curious to know where it falls and how much.”
