Mayors warn of effect on security

Personnel cuts hurt readiness, legislators told

By Shelley Murphy, Globe Staff, 9/9/2003

Several mayors testified at a State House hearing yesterday that their cities are worse off now than before the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks because budget cuts have left them with fewer police officers and firefighters to respond in the event of a terrorist assault.

"Right now our dire need is for personnel," said Mayor Thomas Ambrosino of Revere, testifying before a state Senate panel investigating the state's preparedness to deal with a terrorist attack. State budget cuts have resulted in the loss of 20 police officers and 13 firefighters in Revere over the past two years, he said.

While the US Department of Homeland Security has awarded millions of dollars to cities and towns to enhance security, Ambrosino said the money is generally earmarked for training and equipment, not personnel. "It is great to have money to train and equip people, but if you don't have the people to train and equip it's really not all that helpful," Ambrosino said. "Money for salaries and overtime is what is essential at this point."

Mayor Edward M. Lambert Jr. of Fall River said he has lost 61 police officers and firefighters in the past two years, a 15 percent decrease in the number of police officers and a 10 percent drop in firefighters. The comments by Ambrosino and mayors from Fall River and Salem, who also said they had to lay off police officers and firefighters, contrasted sharply with a security report card released Saturday by Governor Mitt Romney, who said that the number of local fire and police authorities set to respond to disasters is "within 1 or 2 percent" of staffing levels two years ago, despite budget cuts.

Senator Marc R. Pacheco, Democrat of Taunton, said that first responders are "worse off now" than they were two years ago, while federal and state agencies that have received an infusion of federal and state dollars are "better off," including the Massachusetts Port Authority, the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority, and the MBTA.

The hearings, which continue today and tomorrow with testimony from health care specialists and public safety officials, are "really just to figure out where we are . . . and then to prioritize the areas that are of most critical importance to public safety," said Pacheco, who presided at the hearing with Senators Jarrett T. Barrios, Democrat of Cambridge, and Richard T. Moore, Democrat of Uxbridge. US Representative Barney Frank, Democrat of Newton, testified yesterday that every time federal officials announce that the country's color-coded alert system has been elevated because of a new potential terrorist threat it "does put the burden immediately on the local people."

He called the alert system bizarre, saying, "I don't think it conveys any useful information at all."

Frank said he was cosponsoring a bill that proposes to reform the threat advisory system so it can issue alerts to the affected geographic area or industry sector. His proposal would also require the Department of Homeland Security to reimburse personnel costs incurred by local and state governments when the threat level is increased.

Frank said that federal and state officials have done a good job enhancing security at Logan International Airport, but said that "not nearly enough" has been done to secure Boston's seaport. He said that container ships carrying uninspected cargo in and out of the harbor each day remain a vulnerable target for terrorists.

Later in the day, Craig P. Coy -- chief executive officer of Massport, which operates the Conley Terminal where cargo ships are unloaded -- testified that the US Customs Service is inspecting a higher percentage of cargo ships in Boston than in any other port in the country, but said he did not have details.

Coy said that the Customs Service has told him they are using large X-ray machines to inspect all containers that are deemed high risk, along with other containers that are randomly inspected.

Later, Coy told a reporter that container ships are a big issue nationally and internationally "and there are no guarantees in this world."

But he added that Massport "is doing what it can" and working with the Customs Service, which is responsible for inspecting the cargo.