When the federal government began showering states with millions of dollars to guard against terrorism and respond to disasters in the months after Sept. 11, 2001, the chance the money could be misused or frittered away was high.
Most states, including Colorado, didn’t have the proper infrastructure in place in those early days to ensure needed oversight.
But a federal audit released last week suggests that even from 2003 to 2006, Colorado still was mishandling homeland security money, possibly to the tune of $7.8 million. And now Washington may want it back.
The lack of accounting and oversight is disturbing, but, at least to our knowledge, there don’t seem to be any huge wasteful or an inappropriate projects funded with the money.
The report by the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of the Inspector General suggested that as much as $3.4 million went unspent but was moved around by local agencies so they wouldn’t have to return the money to the state. Another $3.9 million in federal funds was spent on a communications system that the feds said should have been paid for by the state.
Colorado also failed to ensure that fire and police departments were trained to respond to terrorist attacks or other disasters, according to the report.
Gov. Bill Ritter’s administration says the report is a snapshot of troubled times during the Owens administration, and that they’ve instituted changes to provide that oversight and accountability.
One of the best moves was putting one person, Gen. Mason Whitney, in charge of homeland security, rather than spreading duties across different departments. In the future, the buck must stop with Gen. Whitney.
The report acknowledges that the state has improved its program but says it still doesn’t have adequate oversight of its grant program. We’re hoping that changes with former state Auditor Joanne Hill overseeing the department’s financial component.
State lawmakers have promised improved oversight, and we hope they follow up on Ritter’s changes to ensure money is being spent in a proper and transparent manner.
