Representatives from the state and local government groups met with members of President George W. Bush’s staff to discuss the details and status of the formation of the state and local government advisory committee on homeland security, Jan. 14. Two major topics of discussion were the appointment of members to the advisory committee and a proposed National Threat Advisory System.

NACo President Javier Gonzales, First Vice President Ken Mayfield and Executive Director Larry Naake joined other members of the “Big Seven,” organizations representing the governors, mayors, cities, state legislatures, state governments, and other governmental organizations, at the White House meeting. Led by Ruben Barrales, deputy assistant to the president and director of the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs, the meeting’s first focus was the appointment of the permanent committee members.

In an address to members of NACo’s own Homeland Security Task Force in Oct. 2001, Gov. Tom Ridge, director of the Office of Homeland Security, announced the formation of an advisory committee that would include representatives from all levels of state and local government. A few legal problems have come up with how the appointment process will work including the committee’s composition. But Admiral Steve Abbot, deputy Homeland Security advisor, assured the members of the Big Seven that their organizations would all be equally represented on the committee.

The other significant item to come out of the meeting was discussion of the creation of a National Threat Advisory System, something that would be similar to the Emergency Broadcast System. The White House staff conceded that the ambiguity of some alerts, issued by Ridge and Attorney General John Ashcroft in the wake of Sept. 11, made it difficult for local law enforcement officials and citizens to know just what the alerts meant.

This new five-tiered alert system would be more specific, and allow citizens and local law enforcement officials to take the necessary precautionary actions. The five levels are: routine, ready, alert, serious and critical. Each level would have a set of criteria and guidelines for preparedness. Members of the Homeland Security Office are currently working on several different drafts of how this new program would work. The drafts will be distributed to the members of the Big Seven as well as various forms of law enforcement, for feedback.

One thing that is certain is, depending on the type of threat; citizens will not always know when an alert has been issued. Sometimes, only law enforcement officials will be made aware of a specific threat. This does not mean citizens will be uneducated about the system. Naake said the Homeland Security Office is relying on organizations such as NACo and its members to educate the public about the system and how it works.

There is no specific timeline for when the new system will be in place.

This was the second meeting of this group, and while there are no future meetings planned at this time, the Big Seven were assured of their future participation in homeland security issues.