Antiterror aid to Mass. drops again

[Ian David]

Antiterror aid to Mass. drops again

By Andrea Estes and Matt Viser, Globe Staff | July 18, 2007

For the second year in a row, Massachusetts will see a sharp decline in the amount of federal money it receives to help cities and towns buy equipment and train emergency workers for possible terrorist attacks, according to a law enforcement official briefed by the US Department of Homeland Security.

The department is expected to announce today that Massachusetts will receive approximately $34 million in homeland security grants for first responders this fiscal year, which began last October, down from $41 million the previous fiscal year, the official said -- a decline of 17 percent.

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"The funding cut is alarming and misplaced in light of the overall increase Congress gave to urban areas this year," Senator Edward M. Kennedy, a Massachusetts Democrat, said last night in a statement provided to the Globe. "Boston relies upon this critical assistance, and it's our responsibility to ensure that our major cities have the resources they need."

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Since the first responder grant program began in 2002, Boston has used the money it received to purchase radios, chemical detectors, and other equipment, as well as to train police and firefighters, said Mayor Thomas M. Menino. In addition to antiterrorism efforts, the grant money can be used to train personnel to respond in natural disasters

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