COUNTY FINANCES Trumbull EMA can't spend money fast enough

The agency recently bought 372 pairs of binoculars for police officers in the county.
By STEPHEN SIFF
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- The Trumbull County Emergency Management Agency has been scrambling to spend $268,000 that began pouring into the three-person department six months ago.
The money represents three years' worth of U.S. Department of Justice grants for the war against terrorism. The local agency has until 2004 to spend it.
"I'm trying to hand out checks left and right," said Linda Beil, the agency director. "I've got another $100,000 to go."
Items bought
The EMA has already bought a portable decontamination shelter and protective gear for the county's hazadous materials team; an antenna mast for the county's "mobile command unit," a converted mobile classroom from Howland Schools; trailers stocked with medical and humanitarian supplies; identification tags for all county fire-fighters; bullet-proof vests and radios for the South County Rapid Deployment Team, comprised of police officers from Weathersfield, McDonald, Girard and Niles; equipment for the county arson task force; and training sessions across the county.
Soon, every police cruiser in Trumbull County will be equipped with a pair of binoculars, courtesy of EMA. The agency bought 372 of them, so officers can examine the scene of a chemical spill or other disaster from a safe distance.
"I'm trying to find stuff we can use," Beil said.
In a previous round of funding, the EMA was required to spend $15,000 on devices that alert an operator if there's a poisonous gas attack. The machines have never been used, and the detection strips that make them work expire in June.