July 23, 2003
ROMNEY SWEARS IN KEEFE AS NATIONAL GUARD CHIEF
Awards $32 Million in Homeland Security Grants to Cities, Towns, Regions
At a swearing in ceremony aboard the USS Constitution, Governor Mitt Romney today announced the reappointment of Major General George W. Keefe as Adjutant General of the Massachusetts National Guard, lauding him for his strong and innovative leadership of the thousands of men and women who comprise the Guard.
Romney also awarded more than $32 million in federal homeland security grants to cities, towns, regional groups and state agencies to help them guard against terrorist threats.
“General Keefe has served our nation and state with excellence,” Romney said. “He has reformed the Massachusetts National Guard and made it one of the preeminent military organizations in the entire country. We are grateful to him for his dedication and service.”
He added, “We are fortunate to have such an effective fighting force, but we cannot rest on our laurels. We need to improve other core elements of our homeland security plan and these federal grants will be instrumental in our efforts to ensure our first responders have the resources they need.”
General Keefe, of Northampton, has been the Adjutant General of the Massachusetts National Guard since 1999 and is the Governor’s senior military advisor. He oversees more than 11,000 National Guard soldiers and airmen and is responsible for protecting life and property as well as preserving peace, order and public safety in times of natural disaster or civil emergency. More than 6,000 National Guard men and women were called upon to serve their nation as part of the recent war in Iraq and the war on terror, including 2,500 who were sent overseas.
“Massachusetts is fortunate to have an Adjutant General that is a natural leader, a man of honor and generally one of the kindest people I have ever met,” said Lieutenant Governor Kerry Healey. “Major General Keefe is a true American.”
Romney said Massachusetts is the first state in the nation to award its share of the federal funds, which will be distributed to 37 state agencies, regional groups and communities to purchase homeland security equipment, including hazardous materials gear, radio and computer equipment and vehicles.
The Commonwealth conducted an innovative grant application process that rewarded communities for working cooperatively and building on existing law enforcement structures.
The 141 applications were evaluated by the Executive Office of Public Safety (EOPS) based on the threat level of the community or communities involved, their level of preparedness, their level of cooperation with surrounding communities and the reasonableness of their request. Municipal applications were then compared with regional applications to avoid duplication of funding. EOPS called on expert grant readers, including officials from Connecticut, Rhode Island and the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University to help in the review process, which was ultimately overseen by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security at the state’s request.
“As the first state to award this money, we have set the national standard for a competitive grant process,” Romney said. “In fact, we’ve learned that other states plan to follow the example Massachusetts has set.”
The grants come from a total of $42.7 million in federal funds awarded to Massachusetts, including $11.7 million received in May and $31 million received earlier this month during a visit from Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge.
In total, 141 agencies, regions and municipalities applied for the $32.2 million available funds. Massachusetts funded 37 of these requests primarily for equipment purchases, including $4.1 million for six state agencies, $8.3 million for 14 municipalities and $16.7 million for 17 regional groups. The state will also issue another $3.1 million for exercises, training and planning.
Massachusetts will use $4.1 million of the remaining $42.7 million to reimburse state and local government for the cost of guarding critical infrastructure during Operation Liberty Shield and $6.5 million to develop a strategic planning process for homeland security and a training and exercise program that will benefit all cities and towns.
“The best way to ensure these grants are used to provide the best protection for the people of Massachusetts is for communities to work together, across boundaries and across disciplines,” Secretary of Public Safety Ed Flynn said. “I’m pleased so many municipalities worked cooperatively in applying for this money.”
There is a federal requirement, which Massachusetts has exceeded, that the money be assigned to its recipients within 45 days.
A complete list of winners is available at www.state.ma.us/eops/news.htm
Romney noted that in addition to the grants announced today, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security recently said the City of Boston will also receive $16,727,125 million in domestic preparedness grant funds and the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority will receive $3,783,396 million for operational activities conducted under the heightened alert level in May.
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