MARTA Receives $1.5 Million for Security Enhancements

Atlanta Receives $10.7 Million in Federal Homeland Security Funds

Atlanta - Governor Sonny Perdue today thanked President Bush and U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge for homeland security funds totaling $10,744,248 for Atlanta and $1,491,848 in grants to MARTA for security enhancements. Governor Perdue made the request for additional homeland security funds for Atlanta during a visit with Secretary Ridge in Washington, DC in June. Secretary Ridge assured Governor Perdue that homeland security funds for the Atlanta area were forthcoming.

"I extend my appreciation to President Bush and Secretary Ridge for these homeland security funds to help protect the Atlanta area from terrorist acts and to provide further security enhancements to MARTA," said Governor Sonny Perdue. "We must remain vigilant in protecting the citizens of Georgia from any acts of terrorism."

Eighty percent of the $10.7 million in homeland security funds for Atlanta will be distributed to first responders, and the remaining twenty percent will be allocated for other security enhancements in the area. The funds are being made available from the federal FY04 budget for the Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) - grants to urban areas within the United States to help enhance their overall security and preparedness level to prevent, respond, and recover from acts of terrorism.

Allowable uses for the MARTA grants include installation of physical barricades and area monitoring systems such as video surveillance, motion detectors, thermal/IR imagery and chemical/radiological material detection systems, integrated communications systems and prevention planning, training and exercises.

These funds are in addition to the homeland security grants totaling $55,617,000 for state and local first responders to prevent, respond, and recover from potential terrorist acts that were announced earlier this month. Georgia also is set to receive $25 million appropriated by Congress on October 30 to help the state meet the security needs for the upcoming G8 Economic Summit.