FY 2011 UASI Awards Leave Many on the Sidelines

The FY 2011 UASI grant awards were announced Thursday.  The reduction from 64 to 31 UASIs caught many by surprise.  While I was predicting that the UASI list might go down to 40-45, 31 was a deeper cut than was expected.


"Eligible candidates for the FY 2011 UASI program have been determined through an analysis of relative risk of terrorism faced by the 100 most populous metropolitan statistical areas in the United States, in accordance with the 9/11 Act. Based on that analysis, the eligible candidates have been grouped into two tiers according to relative risk. Tier I includes the 11 highest risk areas and will be allocated 81.6 percent (81.6%) of the total UASI funding available; Tier II includes the other 20 candidate areas and will be allocated the remaining 18.4 percent (18.4%) of the total UASI funding available."




Click to enlarge
This compares the FY 2011 UASI grant awards (red) to 2010 amounts (blue). 


I plotted the 2011 awards against the 2010 awards to see how things changed.  DHS decided to keep Tier One cities whole so you will see that their funding was maintained at 2010 levels.  San Diego got promoted to a Tier One while everyone else took it on the chin.  Many cities dropped, all Tier Two cities lost funding. 


Note: I combined Miami and Fort Lauderdale for display purposes. Fort Lauderdale got cut for 2011 but is in the same MSA as Miami so the two areas are now in one UASI. 


Interesting to see the cities that stayed vs. those that dropped off. The funding skipped many cities that got more last year than the ones that stayed on.


This obviously has upset a lot of people and I understand that a lot of good work that was being done may need to be curtailed.  


Fortunately, these UASIs all have significant funding remaining in their pipelines from prior fiscal years and have some time remaining to continue their programs before the money runs out.


I expect more of this in FY 2012, Congress is already looking at proposals to cut the UASI list to only 10 cities. It will get worse before it gets better.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What is an EOC information management system?

Image
What is an Emergency Operations Center (EOC) information management system?  With all of the talk about the use of Social Media in Emergency Management  and the use of new technologies for "Situational Awareness" and a "Common Operating Picture" it is important to remember the basics.  After all, EOC management is all about information and resource management. So I thought I would share a summary of EOC information management issues that we recently prepared. The EOC needs an effective information management system to work. INFORMATION MANAGEMENT PROBLEMS DURING A DISASTER The following problems are often seen at all EOC levels: Activation takes place after the fact resulting in a “catch up” process. Lack of good and complete information at the beginning. Possible loss or degraded communications capability. Possible loss or late arrival of key, trained staff. Often a shortfall of resources available to meet demands. Lack of inter-agency coordinati
Read more

It's Baaack! Bill to limit number of UASIs (Updated)

Image
Updated 4-21-11 Once again, there are efforts afoot to limit the number of Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) cities.  However, this legislative maneuvering may be moot.  A combination of less funding and a new risk formula may result in less UASIs without legislative action.  Read on for a full explanation. UASI program funds address the unique planning, organization,  equipment, training, and exercise needs of high-threat, high-density  Urban Areas, and assists them in building an enhanced and  sustainable capacity to prevent, protect against, respond to, and  recover from acts of terrorism. The  proposed legislation, H.R.1555 , was recently introduced by  Rep. Nita Lowey [D-NY18]  as an effort to limit the number of cities and funnel more funding to New York City.  The bill's stated purpose is: "T o amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to limit the number of Urban Area Security Initiative grants awarded and to clarify the risk assessment formula to be used when ma
Read more

What is an Emergency Management Consulting Firm?

Image
What is an Emergency Management Consulting Firm ? I am often asked what I do.  When I answer that I am an Emergency Management Consultant , I typically get an odd look (unless I am talking to an Emergency Manager).   I typically explain that we help governments, businesses, communities, and people prepare for disasters.  But emergency management is complex and should involve the whole community.  All Hands, an Emergency Management Consulting Firm Today’s blog is an attempt to answer the question: What is Emergency Management Consulting? Emergency management consulting firms , and emergency management consultants, help clients with their emergency management programs.  Emergency management is defined by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) as “The managerial function charged with creating the framework within which communities reduce vulnerability to threats/hazards and cope with disasters.” We describe emergency management as a comprehensive progra
Read more