The director of Kentucky’s Office of Homeland Security says the amount of money he has available for grants to local governments is a fraction of what it was eight years ago. Gene Kiser says his office had $27 million for grants in 2004. That compares with only $2.2 million for the coming fiscal year.Kiser says the depleted resource pool comes at a time when many public safety forces in Kentucky are trying to comply with a federal mandate.“The biggest need right now is radios, because the FCC has a mandate that all first responders have to be on a narrow-band frequency by January 1 of 2013,” he said. Kiser testified this afternoon before the state legislature’s interim joint committee on veterans, military affairs and public protection.
