By Joe Dwinell, Chris Van Buskirk
Boston Herald
BOSTON — A statewide firefighter’s union pushed Boston city councilors Tuesday to take up and accept just over $13 million in federal counter-terrorism grant dollars that have ignited debate at City Hall and even on Beacon Hill.
In a letter to councilors, Professional Fire Fighters of Massachusetts President Richard MacKinnon Jr . and Secretary-Treasurer Billy Cabral urged local lawmakers to put aside their disagreements and grab the cash.
“We ask that the Boston City Council put aside its internal political fights and do its job to protect the interests of the citizens and visitors of Boston and the surrounding communities,” the letter said, a copy of which was obtained by the Herald.
Seven votes were needed on the council to shuttle the dollars to Boston’s Emergency Management Office to help prevent, respond to, and recover from terrorism threats, “including chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and explosive incidents,” Mayor Michelle Wu said in a note to the council. But the body found themselves deadlocked in a 6-6 vote on the grant.
The rejected grant would have funded the Metro Boston Homeland Security Region, which covers Boston, Brookline, Cambridge, Chelsea, Everett, Quincy, Revere, Somerville, and Winthrop.
A spokesperson for Wu previously told the Herald the mayor plans to refile the grant in the new year after new members of the City Council are sworn in next month.
Firefighters from the cities and towns covered by the Metro Boston Homeland Security Region said they are “the first line of defense to respond to threats of acts of terrorism.”
“Without proper training and resources, metro Boston firefighters will not be able to effectively protect lives and property in the event of potential terrorist attacks,” the Professional Fire Fighters of Massachusetts letter said, which was also signed by union leaders from Boston, Brookline, Cambridge, Chelsea, Everett, Quincy, Revere, Somerville, and Winthrop.
Boston Firefighters IAFF Local 718 wrote in their own appeal that “our Brother & Sister Firefighters of Metro Boston, and most importantly, the citizens of Boston, strongly urge” the council to release the grant funds. Not doing so is “disheartening and dangerous,” the letter signed by union President Sam Dillon adds.
He cited a joint FBI-DHS alert for a terror watch over the holidays due to unrest over the war in Israel after the Hamas terror attack.
At a council meeting earlier this month, some councilors who voted against the grants said they wanted more information on how the money would be spent and raised concerns about how the funds would be used for surveillance.
Councilor Liz Breadon previously told the Herald she wanted more clarity on how the dollars would be used for natural disasters.
“Given the recent history with what happened this summer in New York and then in Leominster, natural disasters, inundation of the waterfront in a big storm or all of those things,” she said. “It’s really just, I need some more information. And that’s all that was about. There’s no nefarious motive there.”
Boston City Council President Ed Flynn the dollars are “critical to Boston and our region.”
“Our safety is now on the line, no matter your zip code. Public safety impacts everyone and now is the time to provide positive leadership for Greater Boston residents,” Flynn said in a statement to the Herald.
The federal grant also drew the support of the Massachusetts Catholic Conference, the public policy office of the four Roman Catholic Dioceses in Massachusetts.
The conference’s executive director, James Driscoll, said in a letter to Flynn that the funds are “critical” to the protection of state residents.
“Along with many public venues, houses of worship, particularly synagogues, are prime targets for terrorist attacks. The threat has increased dramatically since the start of the Israel-Hamas war on Oct. 7 this year,” Driscoll wrote in a letter dated Tuesday.
Previous Herald materials were used in this report.
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