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Representatives from 15 surrounding counties were on-hand last week, for a meeting of the Regional Homeland Security Oversight Committee, held within a conference room at Comfort Inn and Suites in Chillicothe.
Chairman William (Bill) Brinton Jr. oversaw the meeting. Brinton is the director of the Buchanan County Emergency Management Agency / Region H Hazmat team.
Also in attendance for the meeting were Brett Hendrix (Grant Specialist, Missouri Department of Public Safety), Sherril Gladney (Mutual Aid Coordinator, Missouri Dept. of Public Safety Division of Fire Safety), Steve Cheavens (Planner/Area H Coordinator, Missouri Dept. of Public Safety), Mike Pickerel (Emergency Human Services Planner, Missouri Emergency Management Agency), Joni Botkins (Grant Program Specialist, Missouri Department of Public Safety Office of Homeland Security Grants and Training, Local and State Assistance), and Roarke Holzschuh (State On-Scene Coordinator, Missouri Dept. of Natural Resources Environmental Service Program out of the Kansas City Regional Office).
Multiple Chillicothe and Livingston County service officials also attended the meeting.
Brinton said that the meeting was one of their quarterly affairs. The group meets four times per year to discuss the progress of projects they are currently involved within financially.
“When you have a project, you have two or three years to do them,” he said. “We discussed where we are on stuff.”
An item he specifically mentioned was the purchase of new radios for the Livingston County Sheriff’s Department.
“We have bought a lot of radios in North Central Missouri. We’ve spent well over $1 million,” he said.
“In the past, we’ve had hundreds of thousands of dollars [to work with, annually],” Brinton said. He emphasized that the number of projects the Oversight Committee is able to take on has decreased dramatically, as their funding was cut from $950,000 their first year of implementation, to $500,000 the next, and down to $100,000 last year. Brinton said that it is expected that the group will be able to spend $50,000 this year. The cuts have been made in large part due to the approximately $1 billion in recent federal homeland security budget cuts.
“We’re not really sure what the future is,” Brinton said.
The group plans for their second meeting of the year to take place in either early March or April. Said meeting will take place in Maryville, and will be a budget approval meeting.
“We had a great time,” Brinton said, of his Chillicothe experience. “We appreciated the hospitality of everyone in Livingston County.”
Representatives from 15 surrounding counties were on-hand last week, for a meeting of the Regional Homeland Security Oversight Committee, held within a conference room at Comfort Inn and Suites in Chillicothe.
Chairman William (Bill) Brinton Jr. oversaw the meeting. Brinton is the director of the Buchanan County Emergency Management Agency / Region H Hazmat team.
Also in attendance for the meeting were Brett Hendrix (Grant Specialist, Missouri Department of Public Safety), Sherril Gladney (Mutual Aid Coordinator, Missouri Dept. of Public Safety Division of Fire Safety), Steve Cheavens (Planner/Area H Coordinator, Missouri Dept. of Public Safety), Mike Pickerel (Emergency Human Services Planner, Missouri Emergency Management Agency), Joni Botkins (Grant Program Specialist, Missouri Department of Public Safety Office of Homeland Security Grants and Training, Local and State Assistance), and Roarke Holzschuh (State On-Scene Coordinator, Missouri Dept. of Natural Resources Environmental Service Program out of the Kansas City Regional Office).
Multiple Chillicothe and Livingston County service officials also attended the meeting.
Brinton said that the meeting was one of their quarterly affairs. The group meets four times per year to discuss the progress of projects they are currently involved within financially.
“When you have a project, you have two or three years to do them,” he said. “We discussed where we are on stuff.”
An item he specifically mentioned was the purchase of new radios for the Livingston County Sheriff’s Department.
“We have bought a lot of radios in North Central Missouri. We’ve spent well over $1 million,” he said.
“In the past, we’ve had hundreds of thousands of dollars [to work with, annually],” Brinton said. He emphasized that the number of projects the Oversight Committee is able to take on has decreased dramatically, as their funding was cut from $950,000 their first year of implementation, to $500,000 the next, and down to $100,000 last year. Brinton said that it is expected that the group will be able to spend $50,000 this year. The cuts have been made in large part due to the approximately $1 billion in recent federal homeland security budget cuts.
“We’re not really sure what the future is,” Brinton said.
The group plans for their second meeting of the year to take place in either early March or April. Said meeting will take place in Maryville, and will be a budget approval meeting.
“We had a great time,” Brinton said, of his Chillicothe experience. “We appreciated the hospitality of everyone in Livingston County.”
