City of Belvidere, Illinois Memo To: Citizen Corps Commission From: Mayor Fred Brereton CC: Public Safety Committee Date: 10/14/2003 Re: Activity Update The National Citizen Corps Conference was held in Washington, DC Tuesday, July 29 - Thursday, July 31. Participation by John M. Bridgeland, Assistant to the President and Director, USA Freedom Corps, along with messages delivered by Under Secretary, Emergency Preparedness and Response Department of Homeland Security, reinforced the support for the Citizen Corps program from the federal government. Confirmed with budget announcement on 10/01/03. (Attached) Illinois continues to have a good presence at the national level. (City of Belvidere, City of Palatine, Michelle Hanneken, IEMA, Larry Lux, American Public Works, and Jim Opoka, FEMA) The Illinois Citizen Corps Conference was held in Bloomington, IL Wednesday, October 1 - Thursday, October 2. This conference confirmed Belvidere has been positioned well to benefit from both the national and state levels. Skip Beck joined me in attending this first Illinois Citizen Corps Conference. There was some indication a spring conference may be held in '04 to better accommodate the federal budget and participation from Washington, DC. The Belvidere Citizen Corps has been formalized as a commission to demonstrate the city's commitment for an ongoing program. This commitment should assist its member affiliates to obtain grant funding and recruit volunteers. The Department of Human Services has awarded the city's first grant of $8,353. $2,291.30 has been used for the purchase of CPR & AED training equipment. The Youth Corps distributed door hangers with information on the West Nile virus at a cost of $575.69. The balance of $5,486.01 remains available for prevention projects. A proposal for a Citizen Guide to Community Services is currently being explored by the city council. This could fit in with the intent of the grant and be used to promote voiunteerism & contributions to the Citizen Corps affiliates, and information on the Belvidere Citizen Corps. mailbox:///C|/Documents%20and%20SettiiigsA^alh/Application%20.. Subject: DHS Appropriations! From: citizaicorps@fema.gov Date: Wed, lOct 2003 11:09:34-0400 (EDT) To: Mayor@ci.belvidere.il.us The President is scheduled to participate in a signing ceremony with Secretary Ridge tomorrow, October 1, for the first ever Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Bill. The Bill includes $40 million for Citizen Corps!!! as part of $3,287,000,000 provided to the Office for Domestic Preparedness (ODP) for State and Local Programs. The list of programs funded in this category is provided below. This funding will be available until September 30, 2004. CERT is not specifically referenced in the Bill, but will continue to be funded through Citizen Corps. We will now begin the process of working with ODP to develop the grant guidance and to discuss the distribution mechanism. We are committed to making these grants as flexible as possible and to getting the money to you as soon as possible --. we will keep you posted as soon as we know more. Thank you all for your continued support through the very lean fiscal year of 2003 — we look forward to exciting developments in the year ahead!! State and local programs Amount Formula-Based Grants $1,700,000,000 Law Enforcement Terrorism Prevention Grants $500,000,000 High-Threat,, High-Density Urban Areas Grants $725,000,000 Citizen Corps . $40,000,000 National Domestic Preparedness Consortium $135,000,000 Technical Assistance $30,000,000 National Exercise Program $50,000,000 Competitive Training Grants $60,000,000 Equipment and Testing $17,000,000 Management and Administration $30,000,000 Total $3,287,000 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: CONTACT: BARBARA VIOLA-STIFFLER 962-4400 EXT. 4010 INSIGHT COMMUNICA TIONS TO AIR "BEL VIDERE IN FOCUS" WITH MA YOR FRED BRERETON BELVIDERE, IL - - -OCTOBER 6,2003 - - - insight communications is pleased to announce the production of a half-hour program Belvidere in Focus" with Mayor Fred Brereton. The focal point of this program is dedicated to the flourishing City of Belvidere from government to community growth initiatives as well as other current events surrounding the Belvidere area. Mayor Fred Brereton begins the program by highlighting events that led him into the political arena and the National Recognition the City of Belvidere has received for its tremendous success with the "Citizen's Corps" program. Mayor Brereton commends the Belvidere citizens involved in this volunteer program and emphasizes the importance of strong community involvement. This program will air on insight cable channel 20 on the following dates and times. Tuesday, October 14th 6:00pm Tuesday, October 28th 6:00pm This program is produced by insight communications as a community service to the City of Belvidere. Insight Communications (NASDAQ: ICCI) is the 9th largest cable operator in the united states, serving approximately 1.4 million customers. The company is highly concentrated in four contiguous states of Illinois, Kentucky, Indiana and Ohio. Named "2001 cable operator of the Year" by cablevision Magazine, insight specializes in offering bundled, state-of-the-art services in mid-sized communities, delivering analog and digital video, high-speed data and the recent deployment of voice telephony in selected markets to its customers. Locally, insight Communications serves 79,500 customers in the Rockford District. ###