Monterey CA - January 2010

Kansas Cause: Emler Pushes for Creative Security Funding

Rural areas such as Kansas will need to find innovative ways to fund homeland security efforts as federal resources continue to shrink for less populated areas. That is the message that Kansas state Sen. Jay Emler is spreading, after earning his master's degree at the Center for Homeland Defense and Security in 2008. Emler delivered a presentation, along with Kansas state Rep. Lee Tafanelli, on homeland security funding at the first Kansas Homeland Security Summit in December. The presentation, titled "How to Fund a Kansas Homeland Security Program in Light of Diminished Federal Funding," mirrored his master's degree thesis but was tailored to his home state audience.

"He didn't focus on just one discipline," said David Matthew, another CHDS graduate who is Division Chief at the Sedgwick County (Kan.) Fire Department. "He really talked globally about if you're going to fund those initiatives you have to come up with the money from somewhere."

The bottom line is that creative funding mechanisms are likely needed to pay for security efforts as federal dollars decrease and the money that is available bypasses less-populated locales for metropolitan areas.

"The whole idea is that we have to be innovative," Emler said during a phone interview. "In rural states like Kansas, we're not going to see funding like we did in 2002 and 2003."

That challenge has been heightened during the past couple of years by a recession that has eroded government coffers around the country - namely revenues in the forms of property, sales and income taxes. Meanwhile, expenses such as health care are taking an ever bigger bite out of state budgets.

"The only real dollars we can show in Kansas (for homeland security) are as a result of disasters," Emler said. "You carry those on your books and it shows as homeland security. In reality, it's going toward disaster instead of preparation for homeland security."

He points to a string of conventional funding methods as possibilities - such as asset forfeiture, sales taxes, congestion fees and multi-year budgeting with the addition of a "rainy day" fund. (A bill calling for constitutional changes to bolster the state's rainy day fund was introduced this week in the Kansas Legislature.)

While conventional, those options are not without hurdles. Emler, in his thesis and his December presentation, calls for "thinking outside the box" to fund security preparation with more novel methods. For example, he touts forming public-private partnerships with businesses.

Examples of these partnerships include InfraGuard, a program of the Federal Bureau of Investigation that partners with business, law enforcement, and academia to exchange information on threats. This helps business and academia to protect assets while enabling the federal government to prevent terrorism. Other examples Emler cites as potential partners are retail giants such as Wal-Mart and Home Depot who monitor weather patterns and have expertise in communications and staging supply routes in times of disaster.

A second "outside the box" approach would be an investment program, similar to those that some state governments use to entice and spark growth of certain industries. "That's the kind of thing we need to look at," Emler said. "How can we partner with private industry folks to get the job done? We sure don't have the dollars."

With states like Kansas facing budget shortfalls, Emler concedes that the current political climate may not be the optimal time to push new, creative finance mechanisms. However, as the Kansas Legislature begins a new session, Emler said he will look for a way to promote better homeland security practices in the state that are budget-friendly. Emler said the critical thinking skills taught at CHDS have been invaluable in how he examines security matters and issues in general. The concepts of shifting from "silo" organization and fostering collaborations among agencies working in the homeland security field - both hallmarks of a CHDS education - could prove useful during the coming legislative session.

One possibility Emler cites is shifting highway patrol personnel who are devoted to homeland security into the state's adjutant general's office - consolidating security efforts and costs.

"Those are the things we have been trying to do, streamlining areas where we work on homeland security," Emler said.

Equally important, Emler said the gravity of homeland security in the heartland needs to be impressed on some of his legislative colleagues. Urban areas with major landmarks are aware of their attraction as a threat, but rural areas need to be on the ready as well.

"Will the next catastrophic event be in Kansas?" Emler posited. "If I were a terrorist, it would be in Kansas because when you hit somebody in the breadbasket, it really scares them."

He has been thinking in those terms ever since being appointed in 2004 to chair the state's Joint Committee on Security prompted him to bone up on security issues. That, in turn, eventually led him to enroll at CHDS.

Matthew said that has paid off, as Kansas has the rare lawmaker who has an advanced homeland security education.

"It serves the state of Kansas well to have the future of its homeland security efforts being influenced by knowledgeable leaders such as Jay," Matthew said.

Emler's homeland security education came more than 20 years after he earned his law degree at the University of Denver.

"I think this (CHDS) was every bit as arduous as law school, especially practicing and being a legislator at the same time," he said.

Perhaps the most important value of this CHDS education, he said, that he learned the value of examining issues and events in varied ways.

"We look at things the same way every day, that's our problem," Emler said. "We need to look at things differently."