July 30, 2024 |
Photo – Wyoming Office of Homeland Security logo – Courtesy WY Homeland Security
The State Office of Homeland Security will cease payments for emergency subscription services.
During the July 15th Board of Carbon County Commissioners meeting, Emergency Manager Lenny Layman said the Wyoming State Office of Homeland Security has shifted its funding priorities. Layman said recipients of the State Homeland Security Grant Program, or SHSP, will no longer be permitted to use grant money to pay for subscription services. The county emergency manager said he uses the entire SHSP grant for subscriptions.
Roughly 15 of Wyoming’s 23 counties use the State Homeland Security Grant Program to pay for subscriptions to emergency and security services. Layman said he’ll try to convince the state to give everyone more time to find alternative funding sources for their subscriptions.
Layman said he expects to receive at least a year and a half’s notice before the SHSP funding stops. After that, the county will need to cover the $31,000 in annual subscription fees. The grant money is used for services such as Alert Sense, the county’s emergency notification system.
Layman said he doesn’t know why the Wyoming Office of Homeland Security has chosen to stop funding subscription payments. The emergency manager said he has always obtained the proper authorizations required by the State Homeland Security Grant Program.
Bigfoot99 reached out to Wyoming Office of Homeland Security Grants Manager Darryl Erickson for a statement regarding the SHSP policy change. As of the reporting of this story, Erickson has not responded to our request. Bigfoot99 will continue to investigate and report back with any new information.
