City disaster preparedness budget faces pivotal review today

By Pat Murphy

March 29, 2006

The budget for City disaster preparedness undergoes a pivotal review today by a committee of the Board of Supervisors, following a Budget Analyst report that the submitted budget is incomplete.

Office of Emergency Services director Annemarie Conroy will ask committee recommendation for release of one third of $11.2 million federal grant funds pending budget update, Conroy told the Sentinel.

Supervisors last June placed the entire $11.2 million on reserve when Budget Analyst Harvey Rose first concluded OES budget was incomplete.

Yesterday Rose recommended $7.3 million remain on reserve until a more detailed budget is presented. As submitted, the budget is too vague on how OES plans to spend the money, Examiner Staff Writer Justin Juvenal reported.

Conroy said she expects committee recommendation to take "about a third" of the $11.2 million off reserve.

"We're working with the Budget Analyst. We'll be taking about a third of it off reserve" today, stated Conroy.

"We'll be working with them on the rest of it over the next couple of weeks to take the rest of the dollars off of reserve to move the programs forward.

"We are very proud of our programs here at OES Homeland Security and we look forward to working with the Board and the Budget Analyst on moving forward.

"We accept the recommendations of the Budget Analyst and we're very happy to work with him," added Conroy.

The Budget and Finance Committee will consider OES budget release at its 1:00 p.m. meeting today.

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