Security focus to take on more than just terrorism

Montgomery County Council still needs to approve closure of Department of Homeland Security

‘‘The homeland security dollars are drying up so there should be some consolidating of services, and I’m not sure that’s a bad thing,” Selves said.

On Tuesday, Leggett (D) announced he would shift the duties of the county’s Homeland Security Department to a new Office of Emergency Management and Homeland Security, which would be in the county executive’s office.

Selves oversaw the abolishment of the Johnson County, Kansas, Department of Homeland Security and the creation of the emergency management services department for the county.

‘‘It really doesn’t matter what the hazard is, whether a terrorist attack or a tornado, it requires a coordinated response,” Selves said. ‘‘The bottom line is if your house is destroyed, you don’t care if it was destroyed by a terrorist or a tornado or an earthquake, you want someone there to help.”

Many counties, including Montgomery County, formed their own homeland security departments in the wake of the creation of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

But the federal government’s much-criticized response to Hurricane Katrina in 2005 caused many to rethink the way governments had organized their homeland security departments, said Rocky Lopes, project manager for homeland security at the National Association of Counties in Washington.

Lopes said the change in Montgomery County’s organization would not change how the county responds to emergencies.

‘‘It sounds harsh to say it’s going to be abolished, like it’s going away and never going to be done again,” said Lopes, who lives in Montgomery County and was familiar with the county’s plan. ‘‘But they’re not doing away with the functions. They’re just changing how it is structured and who they report directly to.”

Montgomery’s department also provides security for the county executive and county facilities; those duties would be transferred to the police department.

And, Selves said, it is more efficient in terms of dollars and emergency training to move the emphasis from terror attacks to overall emergency preparedness.

Leggett’s shift was part of a larger reorganization meant to improve services and accountability. He called the plan ‘‘revenue neutral,” at its Tuesday announcement. Some jobs would be lost, but most would be transferred to other departments, he said. The County Council must approve the plan.

The reorganization came from the recommendations of the Reorganization, Restructuring and Realignment Work Group that Leggett appointed in July 2007.

The leader of the work group was Gordon A. Aoyagi, who is also the county’s homeland security director.

Aoyagi, 62, led the committee that recommended he lose his job.

Aoyagi, who has worked for the county for 23 years, said it did not make sense for one person to stand in the way of making a needed change. If the council approves the reorganization, he would leave the county at the end of the fiscal year.