Official lauds Maine efforts U.S. security chief visits state

AUGUSTA – Maine is doing a good job preparing the state to deal with disasters, natural or human-made, said Josh Filler, a Maine native and a top official in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

“I think there has definitely been progress here,” Filler said in an interview Thursday during a visit to Maine. “Every state is unique in its needs, and Maine is a rural state and also a big state with a pretty massive land border with Canada.”

Filler is director of the Office of State and Local Government Coordination in the Homeland Security Department. His agency coordinates the wide array of programs to help state and local governments deal with homeland security issues.

Filler is a Portland native, a graduate of Deering High School before he went on to college in Boston. He is a lawyer who was a member of former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani’s cabinet during the terrorist attacks. He was on the White House homeland security staff before joining the Department of Homeland Security.

Filler was in Augusta on Thursday as keynote speaker at the first Blaine House Conference for First Responders. First responders are the police, firefighters and other emergency personnel who are the first to be called to any disaster or accident scene.

“This conference was great,” Filler said later in the day. “The fact they were able to pull everyone together in one room and give me a chance to have a dialogue with the first responders is always a good thing. So much of this business is communication.”

He said the cooperative attitude between the local agencies and the state is encouraging. He was impressed with the way state officials handled complaints from Portland Police Chief Mike Chitwood concerning cooperation in the post-terrorist attack period.

“I think one thing that was a standup gesture on the part of the state was to sit down with him and work things out and get him on the same sheet of music as they are on,” Filler said.

Gov. John Baldacci met privately with Filler on Thursday afternoon and was pleased with his comments about Maine’s preparedness efforts. But, the governor did not push Filler on budget issues.

“I just didn’t think it was the right time,” Baldacci said. “He was pleased with the way that Maine is operating. He asked us to share with him how we are operating so it might help with other states.”

Filler said he always asks states that have developed “best practices” to share those with his office. He said many of the issues Maine is facing are shared across the country and good ideas are always welcome.

Filler said he also toured the existing emergency operations center in Augusta and was told about the state plans to build a new facility. He had seen part of the facility over the secure video-teleconferencing facility the Homeland Security Department uses to brief state officials.

“I, of course, have seen Art Cleaves over the secure connection, but it was nice to see a piece of hardware we use all the time from the other end,” he said.

Cleaves, director of the Maine Emergency Management Agency, said he was pleased with Filler’s comments about the way the agency operates.

“It was nice to hear, but I know we still have a lot to do,” Cleaves said.

Livermore Fire Chief Randy Berry, who attended the conference, said he wished Filler had addressed an issue of major concern to many fire departments in the state – the Bush administration’s proposed budget cuts in the grants to local fire departments.

“This has been crucial in my department and to a lot of other volunteer departments across the state,” he said. “We just couldn’t afford this equipment we need as first responders.”

Berry said more than 90 percent of the fire departments in the state are all-volunteer departments such as Livermore. He said as departments are required to get more sophisticated equipment and training, they are hard pressed to fund either.

“And it’s not just the volunteers,” he said. “Even the cities like Portland or Bangor have a tough time.”

Filler said he is aware of the concerns but the proposed cuts in the fire service grant programs need to be put in perspective.

“We have put over a billion dollars – $1.1 billion – on the street under this program, and we have another $750 million we are about to award,” he said. “That is an enormous amount of money that is exclusively for the fire service.”

Filler said the president’s budget provides another $500 million for the next budget year. He said there are many homeland security needs, and his department has to weigh all the needs, not just those of fire departments.

“You really have to look at this in the context of what we have already done, and that has been an extraordinary amount of money,” he said.

U.S. Sen. Susan Collins of Maine chairs the committee that oversees the Homeland Security Department. She is on record as saying the proposed cuts are too deep and she will work to obtain more funding during budget negotiations.

“We have not met the needs of the first responders and we need to provide them the equipment and training they need,” Collins said recently.