High alert status costs cities

With the terror alert high and war raging in Iraq, U.S. cities are spending about $70 million weekly on additional homeland security measures, according to projections based on a new U.S. Conference of Mayors survey. Baltimore Mayor Martin O’Malley called on the federal government to share the costs of homeland security and provide direct funds to municipalities rather than funnel them through state governments. “There’s clearly a federal role here, folks,” he said at a Washington, D.C., press conference March 27. He said cities aren’t asking the federal government to “pay for year-round maintenance, training, recruitment, deployment” of first responders, but he added that America’s cities shouldn’t shoulder the burden themselves. Full Story