Twin Cities gets boost in anti-terror aid

(AP) - A new round of federal anti-terror grants to cities shows big gains this year for some, such as Minneapolis-St. Paul, San Diego, Phoenix, and Denver, and cuts for others, including Miami, Milwaukee, and Sacramento, Calif.

The anti-terror aid, expected to be announced Wednesday afternoon by the Department of Homeland Security, is an annual exercise that often leads to complaints from those cities that come up millions of dollars short, compared to the previous year.

An early copy of the national list of grant amounts to the 46 recipient cities was obtained Tuesday by The Associated Press. A DHS spokesman declined to comment.

According to the list given to lawmakers, the Twin Cities area almost doubled its share to $8.5 million, Phoenix more than tripled its take, rising to nearly $12 million, and Houston saw a 50 percent increase to $25 million.

On the losing side: Orlando, Fla., stands to lose more than $3 million of the $9 million it received last year, and Miami will lose one-quarter of the $16 million it received in 2006. Milwaukee lost almost half its funding, a cut of nearly $4 million.

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff has repeatedly said cities should not compare one year's award to the next, because the program is designed to provide aid where the need is greatest in order to make the entire country safer from terrorist attacks.

In the past, that advice has been little comfort to local officials who see their grant amount plummet.

Such swings of fortune were noticeable again this year, particularly with San Diego. That city was at risk in 2006 of being dropped from the program entirely, yet officials decided this year to double its grant amount to $16 million.

The entire program came under intense criticism last year when the two cities struck hardest by the 2001 terror attacks, New York and Washington, each saw a 40 percent cut in funding.

This year, those two places get a boost: the DC area will get nearly one-third more money than last year, for a total of more than $61 million, while New York saw a 7 percent increase, to $134 million. Los Angeles saw its grant cut by 10 percent, to $72 million.

Some amounts to individual cities had already leaked out as members of Congress were notified.

The Urban Area Security Initiative distributes a total of $747 million, reserving the largest share, some $410 million, for seven top tier cities considered at the greatest risk of attack: New York, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., Chicago, Jersey City, N.J., the San Francisco Bay area, and Houston.

The rest is divided among 39 cities that share the rest of the money.

The program is designed to help wide-ranging metropolitan regions, meaning suburbs outside the official city limits also get a share of the funds.

The money can be spent to train, equip, and better protect police, fire, and emergency personnel.

(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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