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CNN Live Saturday
What Is Cost Of Raising Threat Level?
Aired December 27, 2003 - 16:18 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDERICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Well, putting more police in airports and other stepped up security measures cost money. Right now, let's take a close look at the price tag that comes with a high level threat. Akron Ohio mayor Donald Plusquellic, joins us now from Cleveland, with his city's bottom-line to maintain security.
Good to see you. Thanks for joining us.
MAYOR DONALD PLUSQUELLIC, AKRON OHIO: Thank you.
WHITFIELD: Well, paint a picture for me. Are you having to spend more money to put more emergency response teams on the clock?
PLUSQUELLIC: Well, every mayor, every police chief, every fire chief around the country has that problem when the higher security level is announced. We all react in ways that are appropriate to our community, and Akron is different from Cleveland and Cleveland's different from New York City. But, there's similarity, there are certain places, certain types of things in each of our cities that we have to maintain that higher level of safety, security, and that means usually manpower, in some cases it's meant already, additional equipment. It certainly has meant additional training for all of us, no matter what size the city.
WHITFIELD: And how are you paying for it?
PLUSQUELLIC: Up until just recently, out of our own budgets, that's been the problem. It took the federal government about -- more than two years, actually, to approve additional moneys they had committed a month after the September 11 tragedy and many of us have had to do it out of existing budgets in a difficult time.
WHITFIELD: Well, are you able to receive it? There were many cities complained of never receiving any of that federal money post 9/11 or even after the anthrax scare, given that they had to put their emergency response teams at the ready. They never got any federal help. Are you?
PLUSQUELLIC: Well, there's still some cities that haven't. There's some existing programs that that sort of refunneled the money and there were small amounts, but February of next year is a time that we're looking at to have at least 80 percent of the money out to the local governments and that is a requirement in the law, it's something that mayors fought very hard to try to get direct funding to the real frontline security, which is the police and the fire, EMS technicians, all of those folks, who are the first line responders within our own country, in each community. But, we weren't able to win that. So, it goes through the states, and the states individually -- separately, all different, have set up a -- organizations to be able to spread that dollar -- those dollars across various the communities within their state, depending how they choose to allocate that. And, it's process that we're going through right now, competing, in those instances, for those dollars.
WHITFIELD: But, describe the strain that it puts your city in right now, even if there will be federal funds later that come to the rescue, that trickled down to the state, et cetera, you have to meet the federal directive now.
PLUSQUELLIC: Well, we really do. We can't afford to ignore it. We spent about $35,000 a week in additional incremental -- incrementally additional costs for that security. In New York City, it's estimated it's $3.5 million a week, obviously, a huge amount to be taken out of existing tough budgets and it's something that we've talked about for a good while, because, this really needs to be a partnership between the federal government and local government. We provide that first line security to do the typical things of crime fighting, but this is really a national problem and the federal government has approved the moneys, now it's a matter of trying monitor to make sure those moneys, that cities have the flexibility to spend them where they are needed, whether it's training, in operability of equipment, so that communications can take place in crucial situations, or in some instances, the important part is to pay for overtime so that we can have the personnel available when necessary.
WHITFIELD: Mayor Donald Plusquellic, thanks very much for joining us, from Akron, Ohio.
PLUSQUELLIC: You're welcome. Thank you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired December 27, 2003 - 16:18 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDERICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Well, putting more police in airports and other stepped up security measures cost money. Right now, let's take a close look at the price tag that comes with a high level threat. Akron Ohio mayor Donald Plusquellic, joins us now from Cleveland, with his city's bottom-line to maintain security.
Good to see you. Thanks for joining us.
MAYOR DONALD PLUSQUELLIC, AKRON OHIO: Thank you.
WHITFIELD: Well, paint a picture for me. Are you having to spend more money to put more emergency response teams on the clock?
PLUSQUELLIC: Well, every mayor, every police chief, every fire chief around the country has that problem when the higher security level is announced. We all react in ways that are appropriate to our community, and Akron is different from Cleveland and Cleveland's different from New York City. But, there's similarity, there are certain places, certain types of things in each of our cities that we have to maintain that higher level of safety, security, and that means usually manpower, in some cases it's meant already, additional equipment. It certainly has meant additional training for all of us, no matter what size the city.
WHITFIELD: And how are you paying for it?
PLUSQUELLIC: Up until just recently, out of our own budgets, that's been the problem. It took the federal government about -- more than two years, actually, to approve additional moneys they had committed a month after the September 11 tragedy and many of us have had to do it out of existing budgets in a difficult time.
WHITFIELD: Well, are you able to receive it? There were many cities complained of never receiving any of that federal money post 9/11 or even after the anthrax scare, given that they had to put their emergency response teams at the ready. They never got any federal help. Are you?
PLUSQUELLIC: Well, there's still some cities that haven't. There's some existing programs that that sort of refunneled the money and there were small amounts, but February of next year is a time that we're looking at to have at least 80 percent of the money out to the local governments and that is a requirement in the law, it's something that mayors fought very hard to try to get direct funding to the real frontline security, which is the police and the fire, EMS technicians, all of those folks, who are the first line responders within our own country, in each community. But, we weren't able to win that. So, it goes through the states, and the states individually -- separately, all different, have set up a -- organizations to be able to spread that dollar -- those dollars across various the communities within their state, depending how they choose to allocate that. And, it's process that we're going through right now, competing, in those instances, for those dollars.
WHITFIELD: But, describe the strain that it puts your city in right now, even if there will be federal funds later that come to the rescue, that trickled down to the state, et cetera, you have to meet the federal directive now.
PLUSQUELLIC: Well, we really do. We can't afford to ignore it. We spent about $35,000 a week in additional incremental -- incrementally additional costs for that security. In New York City, it's estimated it's $3.5 million a week, obviously, a huge amount to be taken out of existing tough budgets and it's something that we've talked about for a good while, because, this really needs to be a partnership between the federal government and local government. We provide that first line security to do the typical things of crime fighting, but this is really a national problem and the federal government has approved the moneys, now it's a matter of trying monitor to make sure those moneys, that cities have the flexibility to spend them where they are needed, whether it's training, in operability of equipment, so that communications can take place in crucial situations, or in some instances, the important part is to pay for overtime so that we can have the personnel available when necessary.
WHITFIELD: Mayor Donald Plusquellic, thanks very much for joining us, from Akron, Ohio.
PLUSQUELLIC: You're welcome. Thank you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
