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City Council to Consider Two-year UASI Grant

The Seattle City Council will consider legislation soon that authorizes use of a two-year, $2.34 million Urban Areas Security Initiative (UASI) grant awarded by the Department of Homeland Security/FEMA through its Homeland Security Grant Program.

The money would go toward a variety of projects including:

•         $100,000 for community outreach to raise awareness and help Seattle residents prepare for disasters.
•         $100,000 to purchase new information management software for SPD’s Criminal Intelligence Section to replace an antiquated filing system that uses an in-house application and card files. The proposed system will provide a secure platform for reviewing sensitive information and enhance SPD’s ability to comply with federal and local requirements for intelligence data.
•         $266,000 to purchase specialized SWAT/Explosive Ordinance Disposal team personal protective equipment.
•         $450,000 to purchase specialized equipment and train firefighters to respond to the structural collapse of buildings.
•         $600,000 to fund the Seattle Urban Area’s portion of the Washington State Fusion Center, which provides intelligence analysis and sharing of information between local, state and federal first responder agencies.

Since 9/11, the UASI grant program has supplied the Seattle Urban Area, comprised of the City of Seattle, King County, the City of Bellevue, and Pierce and Snohomish Counties with more than $116 million in grant awards.  The City of Seattle’s share of these awards has exceeded $53 million.  Of that amount, some is for equipment and training coordinated through the City of Seattle and provided to all five of the UASI jurisdictions.

The proposed legislation is expected to be reviewed at the City Council Public Safety, Civil Rights and Technology Committee meeting on Wednesday, December 3, 2014 at 2:00 p.m.