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# City officials determining how to foot $2M price tag
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/city-officials-determining-how-to-foot-2m-price-tag/
- Published: 2005-08-13T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T07:34:56.000Z
- Author: Carolyn Sackariason
- Tags: Environment, Pier, #archive-import

*Homeland Security provided California with $282M in ’04*

Officials in the coming days will determine how to pay for an estimated $2 million in security upgrades as a result of a possible probe of the Santa Monica Pier by suspected terrorists.

Santa Monica Police Chief James T. Butts Jr. informed the public this week that a citizen on July 3 spotted three men — each of Middle Eastern decent — suspiciously videotaping specific areas of the pier, including access roads and the SMPD’s substation.

Based on intelligence from other agencies, the same men have been seen recently videotaping the Vincent Thomas Bridge in Long Beach and the Huntington Beach Pier. Another agency confirmed that the same individuals were seen videotaping at the 2003 Academy Awards.

Officials are now planning how to make preemptive changes to the city’s security systems to further protect the public in the event a terrorist attack does hit Santa Monica.

The SMPD has added four overtime police officers and reconfigured the observation posts at the pier. Security has been increased underneath the pier and surrounding the structure’s pilings.

Already underway are plans to train and hire additional K-9 officers with bomb-sniffing dogs. Butts anticipates hiring at least two new K-9 officers, but four may be necessary. The dogs themselves cost $5,000 apiece and the specially trained officers command about $100,000 a year in salary.

There also will be increased security on the Third Street Promenade, including the installation of security cameras, which will be placed throughout the downtown area and the pier. Signs will be posted throughout the Bayside District indicating that there are cameras rolling.

Butts said he and city officials are currently working with a consultant about the size and scope of the project. The camera system’s installation and equipment will likely be an emergency purchase and won’t go out for a public bid. The cost of the surveillance system is estimated at $1.1 million.

Santa Monica has been placed on a list for grant consideration by the California Office of Homeland Security. The maximum the city could receive under the “buffer zone protection fund” is $50,000\. About $13 million of that fund is budgeted for 259 cities throughout California, Department of Homeland Security officials said.

And while there are opportunities to receive more grant money from the Department of Homeland Security, city officials plan to move forward with the security enhancements and figure out how to pay for them later.

“When extraordinary things happen... we can shift things around,” said City Hall spokeswoman Judy Rambeau, adding city officials met on Thursday to discuss funding issues. “Over the next few days, we’ll figure out where the money is going to come from.

“I’m certain we’ll look for grant funding.”

Rambeau added that revenue from the state, in the form of vehicle license fees, came earlier than anticipated to Santa Monica, which could be used for the immediate security upgrades. Another option is to dip into City Hall’s reserve funds.

“We try to keep a healthy reserve, but whether they use it, I don’t know,” she said.

> “We try to keep a healthy reserve, but whether they use it, I don’t know,” — she said

The city of Santa Monica has received nearly $1.7 million from the California Office of Homeland Security since 2001, said Santa Monica Fire Chief Jim Hone. That money is used for the city’s emergency management department, and the fire and police departments. In 2005, the Santa Monica Fire Department is expected to receive $2.2 million in homeland security funding.

Funding to local municipalities for terrorism protection is distributed through a complex bureaucratic process, with the city of Los Angeles ultimately deciding how much Santa Monica will receive, according to Gary Wunik, chief deputy director of the California Office of Homeland Security.

The federal Department of Homeland Security distributed $282 million to California last year, of which $85 million went to Los Angeles — one of nine cities determined “high risk” by federal authorities. Santa Monica is included as part of the Los Angeles region, Wunik said.

The California Office of Homeland Security administers money to municipalities through three major programs — the first is on a cost-plus basis, determined by population. Another is based on a city’s risk factor, and the third applies only to law enforcement agencies, which can use the money for equipment, training, exercises and capital improvements.

Wunik said Santa Monica’s surveillance system could be covered under that grant, which has a $1 million cap.

He added that all funding from the Department of Homeland Security must be done with regional planning among area agencies. The approving authority consists of the Los Angeles County Sheriff, the Los Angeles County Fire Department chief, the Los Angeles County public health officer, and the city of Los Angeles fire and police chiefs, Wunik said.

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on August 13, 2005.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/081305.pdf?ref=smdp.com)