Washington, DC
March 12, 2004

Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge has established an ad hoc task force of elected officials for the purpose of confronting the "logjam" of $7 billion of homeland security funds that are located somewhere between Washington and down where they were intended to be and belong — to our first responders in cities throughout America.

The Ridge Task Force was created after President Bush came before us at our January Winter Meeting here in Washington and said that the funds were stuck somewhere and he pledged to unstick them. Following President Bush's statement, Conference President James A. Garner got the call from Secretary Tom Ridge and we met with Secretary Ridge and we agreed with his proposal to establish his ad hoc task force of state and local elected officials to get the money to our front line first responders.

This week the Ridge Task Force held its second conference call meeting. Conference President Garner established a team of himself, Vice President Akron Mayor Don Plusquellic, Advisory Board Chair Long Beach Mayor Beverly O'Neill and Criminal and Social Committee Chair Elizabeth, New Jersey Mayor Chris Bollwage to serve as Conference representatives on the task force comprised of governors, state legislators, county officials and mayors.

The Ridge Task Force elected our Vice President Akron Mayor Don Plusquellic to serve as vice chair and the Governor of Massachusetts Mitt Romney will serve as chair.

During our session this week, the discussions centered on the reimbursement issue. The homeland security legislation provides that local governments must spend money or create budget room for their homeland security needs and then they will be reimbursed. Mayor Don Plusquellic made the point that some cities cannot put the cash up front and he argued that the reimbursement requirement be changed. Long Beach Mayor Beverly O'Neill echoed his concerns. The Ridge team accepted this challenge and they will explore the possibility of removing this statutory reimbursable feature which is an impediment and is causing the logjam of federal funds that sit some place, some where instead of down to our first responders where they belong. The Ridge Team is also establishing a process to break the funding logjam in individual cities that received high threat funding by getting all parties — state — county and city — together to make sure that funds sent from Washington are not stuck some place and are being drawn down to our first responders where Congress and the Bush Administration intended for the funds to be in the first place. The Ridge Team is using the City of Los Angeles as their poster child city. They report that the Los Angeles funding situation was most challenging and they helped fix it. Secretary Ridge and his team are most pleased that through their process in Los Angeles, Los Angeles- funding challenges are improved. Secretary Ridge cited the Los Angeles process when he met with county officials at NACo's recent Spring Meeting here in D.C. They have also cited the L.A. situation to members of the press. I have been asked to comment. The question goes like this: Funding for Los Angeles faced challenges, the Ridge team straightened it out; now everyone is okay. We applaud them for solving L.A.'s problem.

ounty and city — together to make sure that funds sent from Washington are not stuck some place and are being drawn down to our first responders where Congress and the Bush Administration intended for the funds to be in the first place. The Ridge Team is using the City of Los Angeles as their poster child city. They report that the Los Angeles funding situation was most challenging and they helped fix it. Secretary Ridge and his team are most pleased that through their process in Los Angeles, Los Angeles- funding challenges are improved. Secretary Ridge cited the Los Angeles process when he met with county officials at NACo's recent Spring Meeting here in D.C. They have also cited the L.A. situation to members of the press. I have been asked to comment. The question goes like this: Funding for Los Angeles faced challenges, the Ridge team straightened it out; now everyone is okay. We applaud them for solving L.A.'s problem.

L.A. and L.A. county is bigger than some states or nations. Certainly cities and counties throughout the nation are not as complex and through the special care they gave to remove impediments for L.A., more cities will receive the L.A. treatment so there will be less funding challenges.

Our goal is to do one thing: get the money down to our first responders on the front line in cities throughout America. That goal was articulated in Denver at our Annual Meeting last June after Congress, The White House and other city and county organizations opposed direct funding to cities and sent the money to the statehouses. We argued before Congress, along with the support of Senator Hillary Clinton and others, for a more balanced delivery system with portions of money going to states and a balanced amount coming to cities and counties. Mayors were skeptical about first responders- money going to statehouses. They were afraid the funds would get stuck somewhere, God knows where, and the funds would not be sent to our first responders. Mayors expressed deep concern that there would be first responder funding logjams in state authorities and state legislatures. Mayors expressed concerns that equipment would be sent that did not meet their individual first responders- departmental needs—and that deadlines set in the nation's capital would not be met by the state capitals.

We lost the lonely fight on direct funding but our goal did not change. We established our Homeland Security Monitoring Center. Surveys coming from our Center are proving successful. Some of the deep concerns and fears the mayors expressed are unfortunately proving true. Today, we are not in a "I told you so" attitude. Such an expression or attitude over money needed for our first responders would be bush league and not befitting to our organization or the mayors of the nation. We are major league players; we understand politics. We can also count and the votes were not there from either the Democrats or Republicans to do what we thought should be done. We are disappointed with our friends who did not stand with us when mayors across the country asked Congress for a fair and balanced delivery system providing monies needed more than ever for our first responders in our cities and counties.

But we are not focusing on the past. We are focused on the present. Our goal still and will forever be until the game is over: To get the money down to our first responders. President Kennedy once said, "Life is unfair" and Winston Churchill once said, "When you're going through hell, keep on going." And we will!

We are pleased President Bush agrees with us that funds must be "unstuck" so that the first responder funds get to where they belong and are needed. We are pleased that Secretary Ridge has stated publicly over the past few weeks that logjams of federal first responder funds do exist and his pledge to remove the logjams. We are pleased with Secretary Ridge and his team's action to set up this special ad hoc task force to "unstick" money and remove the logjams that serve as impediments to ensure that our first responders get the resources they need now to prevent terrorist killing and other activities within the United States.

And so, with Mayors Garner, Plusquellic, O'Neill and Bollwage, and with Mayor Don Plusquellic as the vice chair of the Ridge Task Force we are off to a good start at getting the job done, getting it right. We will devote our energies and time to this process. And as Winston Churchill also said: "Never, never, never, never ... ever give up."

And we won't — until stuck funds are unstuck and the logjams are broken. Let us work with old friends, develop new friends. We must recognize the only enemy here is the terrorist individual and their organization. This issue is too big for federal, state, or local squabbles. This issue is about our love for our nation, our states, our counties and our cities — our USA culture and our freedom of daily activity in this great nation. And even more it's about our people — the men, woman and children need and want in their daily lives — the freedom to go anywhere, do anything to enhance their economic strength, their leisure and spiritual needs and not fear that they would be hurt or killed.

Yes, its all about us. People look to the mayors and first responders to protect and save them. That's the way it is in the United States of America. And that's why even if there are stumbles and losses along the way, we will heed the words of Mr. Churchill—never to ever give up until every man, woman and child feel secure and safe. That's the post 9-11 world we live in. Together we must all work together to get the job done and we will.