A decade after 9/11, “homeland security” isn’t be what it used to be in Colorado, as big changes in the program were announced this afternoon.
The Governor’s Office of Homeland Security is history, and the job of managing grants and coordinating programs among state agencies moves to the Colorado Department of Public Safety, under an executive order signed by Gov. John Hickenlooper.
“We will increase the effectiveness of our programs and the accountability of our services,” James H. Davis, executive director of the Department of Public Safety, said in the joint statement from several state agencies
The purpose is to cut overlapping responsibilities for homeland security, jump-start public outreach, “reduce confusion,” and “establish a single resource for accountability,” the agencies stated.
The change is the third for a program that has funneled Colorado governments $354 million in federal money since the terrorist attacks in New York City, Washington D.C. and Pennsylvania a decade ago.
A Denver Post story last month reported that the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security did not keep a complete computer database of how the money has been spent.
“I think it’s ridiculous,” Hickenlooper said at the time of incomplete records, which he characterized as a byproduct of shuffling oversight among state agencies over the years.
Today’s change is the result of conversations that began before Hickenlooper took office, the agencies stated.
The change takes effect immediately and isn’t expected to create any extra cost, but it will cost three state employees their jobs.
Fifteen employees move to the new Division of Homeland Security under Kevin Klein, who has been the director of the state Division of Fire Safety. That agency combines with the existing Office of Preparedness and Office of Prevention and Security.
“This structure takes into account the strengths each of our agencies brings to ensure Colorado communities are empowered to prepare for, respond to and recover from natural and man-made disasters,” stated Reeves Brown, executive director of the Department of Local Affairs.
Joey Bunch: 303-954-1174 or jbunch@denverpost.com
