Details of security spending released

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- The state has received about $135 million in federal homeland security money since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and has spent about $49 million of it, Gov. Matt Blunt's office said Thursday.

Blunt asked state agencies for an accounting of how that money is being spent in February, saying it was tough to track where the funds had gone.

State emergency management officials said at the time that the money is in a reimbursement program and can only be doled out once state or local governments have paid for their costs. One issue was a delay by local governments in receiving equipment from suppliers. The report from Blunt's office released Thursday reiterates those issues. The figures cover funds received after Sept. 11, 2001, through 2004.

Blunt's office said six of 16 state agencies have collectively spent about $11 million so far. Projects include improving communications equipment for the Missouri State Highway Patrol and others; protective equipment for law enforcement and fire safety; and a security gate for the Governor's Mansion.

The money also can be used for, among other things, training for law enforcement; establishing teams around the state to respond to terrorist attacks; and reimbursing governments for extra costs when the nation's terror alert level is raised.

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