Maryland County Abolishes Homeland Security

Maryland’s Montgomery County has decided to abolish its Department of Homeland Security amidst a nationwide trend of counties focusing on an all-hazards approach to emergency preparedness.

In an article on the Gazette.net website, C. Benjamin Ford says that while the county must still make final approval before dismantling the department, county executive Isiah Leggett said he will shift the duties of the county’s Homeland Security Department to a new Office of Emergency Management and Homeland Security.

Mike Selves, former president of the International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM), told Ford that in the wake of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, many counties had formed homeland security departments to receive homeland security grants from the federal government and for administration and coordination purposes.

However, Selves pointed out that, “the homeland security dollars are drying up so there should be some consolidating of services, and I’m not sure that’s a bad thing. It really doesn’t matter what the hazard is, whether a terrorist attack or a tornado, it requires a coordinated response. The bottom line is if your house is destroyed, you don’t care if it was destroyed by a terrorist or a tornado or an earthquake, you want someone there to help.”

Rocky Lopes, project manager for homeland security at the National Association of Counties in Washington, told Ford the change probably won’t change how the county responds to emergencies. “It sounds harsh to say it’s going to be abolished, like it’s going away and never going to be done again,” Lopes told Ford. “But they’re not doing away with the functions. They’re just changing how it is structured and who they report directly to.”