Livingston County’s Department of Emergency Management will receive grant funding that helps communities become more prepared.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security on an annual basis issues a non-competitive, pass-through grant that aims to build and sustain national preparedness capabilities. The funding supports states, regions and counties in their efforts to prevent, respond to or recover from incidents of national significance, including terrorism-related activities. Livingston County is in Region One of the Michigan Department of State Police Emergency Management and Homeland Security Division, and will receive approximately $124,176, based on population.

According to Emergency Manager Therese Cremonte, the 2019 Homeland Security Grant Program allocation for Livingston County is for responders to prevent, plan for, and respond to incidents. Approximately 50% of the local allocation must go towards building the resiliency of law enforcement. The program Planning Board’s Executive Committee has allocated just over $68,176 for projects in Livingston County that have a terrorism nexus at the discretion of the Local Planning Team. Another $50,000 has been allocated to support the employment of a Region One Planner position that is hosted by Livingston County, as well as $6,000 to support the County’s participation in Homeland Security conferences.

Cremonte tells WHMI Homeland Security Grant Program funds support projects locally and statewide such as specialized equipment for response like Unmanned Aircraft Systems, Mobile Data Computers for responder interoperability, and specialized training for responders such as Hazardous Materials training, or All Hazards Incident Management Team training. She notes these are examples of project types, but that this list is certainly not all inclusive.

Cremonte says the funding “benefits the community by building capabilities for all responder disciplines to include law enforcement, fire, paramedics, communications, health, and emergency management”. A resolution authorizing Livingston County to participate in the 2019 Homeland Security Grant Program, and to submit related agreements, was approved by the Board of Commissioners at a recent meeting. (DK)