Five years after the 9/11 attacks, federal grants to state and local governments to bolster terrorism preparedness are dwindling. This year, the states will split $1.7 billion from the Homeland Security Grant Program, which accounts for the bulk of such funding. That's down from $2.5 billion last year.

North Carolina's allocation has shrunk from $54 million in 2004 to $30.5 million this year. About one-third is already earmarked by the federal government. State emergency officials are deciding now how to spend the rest -- and taking heat as they do it. The dwindling grants have touched off a spat between state and local officials over how to slice the smaller pie.

Instead of letting local governments apply for grants, as they have in previous years, the state is making funding choices based on a list of priorities reached with local input and aligned with the federal emphasis on regional projects rather than local ones.

"There's no point in getting 100 jurisdictions to put in for their needs when you're only going to be fulfilling four or five of them," said Bryan Beatty, the state's secretary of crime control and public safety.

County emergency officials knew there was less money but were blindsided when they couldn't submit grant applications, said Randy Thompson, the emergency management director for Brunswick County and president of the N.C. Emergency Management Association.

The regional focus makes sense, he said, but without the applications, the state can miss differing regions' needs. Neighboring New Hanover County has an urban search-and-rescue team that can be used across the region, he noted, but a major disaster -- a terrorist attack on the Brunswick Nuclear Plant or a munitions ship out of Sunny Point, the nation's largest military ammo port -- would create a need for more than one team there.

Thompson's county allocated money for half the equipment for an urban search-and-rescue team in 2004, half the next year, and wanted to apply for enough for a truck to move the team around.

"That's just one example, and there are a bunch more around the state," Thompson said. "All we want is a chance to petition for the funds, and then they can say no if they don't like what we're asking for."

The Department of Homeland Security dictated that most of the grant money be split, with about four-fifths used for local projects. North Carolina is planning to use about half the money it controls for an elaborate statewide radio network that it has been working on for three years. This system, called VIPER, is expected to take two more years and another $110 million to complete.

Is VIPER the best use?

VIPER would let local and state emergency and law enforcement officials communicate on one radio system. It has long been a state priority, and such systems also are high on Homeland Security's priority list. Poor communication across agencies badly hindered response to the 9/11 attacks in New York and has been a common problem in disaster response.

Still, many local emergency officials would disagree with the state's interpretation of VIPER as a local project, said Dewayne West, the emergency services director in Johnston County.

"None of us are against VIPER," he said. "We're just against the way it's being funded.

"It's not illegal, but I'm not sure it's right. When you are struggling to improve your capability, it's awfully hard to see that sort of money lying up there and not even have a chance to be heard."

Beatty, the crime control secretary, said there was hardly a unified voice among local officials on spending the federal money. Officials in a given county often disagree among themselves.

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