Less grant money for anti-terrorism equipment and training is expected for the Centre County region for 2005, while more grant money will be distributed directly from the federal government to larger cities.
The federal government has developed a new plan to distribute the grants directly to cities such as New York, Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles, instead of distributing the money through state programs.
The grant money allocated for anti-terrorism has risen from $70,000 in 1999 for the South Central Mountain Region, which includes Centre County, to more than $1.7 million in 2004.
State College Police Sgt. Dana Leonard said the reason for the increase in federal money could be largely attributed to big venues in State College, such as football games at Beaver Stadium and basketball games at the Bryce Jordan Center.
Although grant money has increased steadily from 1999 through 2004, because of the new distribution process, less money is expected in 2005 for the South Central Mountain Region, as well as many other rural regions, throughout Pennsylvania.
Maria Smith, Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency (PEMA) spokeswoman, said she does not believe that the change in grant distribution will affect rural areas.
"Grants for terrorism are distributed to the nine counter-terrorism task forces in Pennsylvania," Smith said.
Within Pennsylvania, all 67 counties belong to one of the nine counter terrorism task forces.
PEMA distributes money first to Centre County, which is then responsible for distributing money to the remaining counties in the South Central Mountain Region.
Smith said despite the changes, PEMA still receives the money to distribute to the nine regions and all regions should receive adequate funding.
"The difference is that larger cities like Pittsburgh and Philadelphia now receive extra funding because they are [more likely to be terrorist] target areas," Smith said.
Despite the expected loss, Smith believes that it will not inhibit the ability of these regions to adequately fund anti-terrorism efforts.
"We participate in the [South Central Pa.] Regional Counter-Terrorism Task Force and seem to have plenty of support," said Leonard.
Smith said in 2004, more than $14.2 million was distributed to Philadelphia and $6.8 million was distributed to Pittsburgh.
She added that no numbers were available regarding the amount of money that will be allocated to larger cities.
State College Borough Manager Tom Fountaine said he is in favor of the new change for allocating grant money to larger cities.
"Anti-terrorism funds have often been slow getting to the cities, and this should help speed the process of getting those funds," Fountaine said.
"Where the threats are highest, this should help speed up the process," he added.
State College Police Chief Tom King said receiving less money would not affect purchasing equipment and training personnel for possible terrorist attacks.
"The grant money is most effective when it is directly given by the federal government," King said.
By using the new direct distribution from the federal government, King said it could possibly help save some state programs.
He said this might be possible by leaving more money for the commonwealth to use on human services and community infrastructure, such as maintaining sidewalks and roads, among other activities.
