ODP Director Sue Mencer
C. Suzanne “Sue” Mencer was appointed by President George W. Bush in September 2003 to serve as the director of ODP. She began her career as an FBI special agent in Mobile, AL, and then New York City until 1985. Mencer was a Supervisory Special Agent at FBI Headquarters in Washington, D.C. where she was in charge of investigations in country-specific areas of national security from 1985 to 1990. She also had responsibilities for preparing the congressional budget for the National Security Division of the FBI.
Mencer moved to the Denver Office of the FBI in 1990, where she supervised a squad of special agents, analysts, local law enforcement officers and other investigators in the Joint Terrorism Task Force. She also supervised investigations dealing with civil rights, foreign counterintelligence, economic espionage, and international and domestic terrorism. Mencer chaired the Interagency Threat Analysis Group for the Summit of the Eight in 1997; chaired the Intelligence and Threat Analysis Committee of the Denver Consortium of the White House Commission on Aviation Safety and Security; and served on the security committee for the trials of Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols. She retired from the FBI in 1998, after 20 years of service, and worked as a consultant providing anti-terrorism training to local law enforcement in cooperation with the Institute for Intergovernmental Research. She is a graduate of the Ohio State University and completed graduate courses at the University of South Florida. In July 2000, Mencer was named executive director of public safety for the State of Colorado, serving on the Peace Officer’s Standard and Training Board and the Rocky Mountain High Intensity Drug Trafficking Board; on the Judicial Discipline Commission; as the Governor’s Homeland Security Point of Contact and the Council of State Governments district representative for Homeland Security; and on the National Task Force on Interoperability, the Governor’s Clemency Board, the Governor’s Expert Emergency Epidemic Response Committee and the U.S. Attorney’s Anti-Terrorism Task Force.
The interview was conducted by Firehouse® Magazine Contributing Editor Charles Werner.
Firehouse: How did your position as Colorado public safety director prepare you to work with the fire service?
Mencer: I tried very hard to address all facets of public safety, not just law enforcement. Coming from a law enforcement background, I had a double whammy against me: not only being law enforcement, but also federal law enforcement, having come to Colorado from the FBI. I had to convince the fire services in Colorado that I was as supportive of them as anyone would be.
Firehouse: There have been references to consolidation within ODP. Can you explain?
Mencer: We are in the implementation stage of consolidating the Office of Domestic Preparedness and the Office of State and Local Government Coordination. Our offices have always worked very closely together, and this consolidation represents a shift in thinking from a stovepipe concept of how we do homeland security to a horizontal thinking, where we’re looking at consolidating like functions. That’s certainly what we have done with this consolidation. While the stovepipes will not go away overnight, we are certainly on our way to dissolving them. The new name of the combined office is the Office of State and Local Government Coordination and Preparedness (SLGCP).
Firehouse: What are the benefits realized from this consolidation?
Mencer: It’s always better when you can look at the big picture and coordinate efforts, such as consolidating all of the Department of Homeland Security’s grant programs under one umbrella. From a state’s perspective, it is tremendously important to have one place to go to look for grant funding that will help the state with preparedness, prevention and other homeland security issues. This negates spending unnecessary time trying to track down funds and gives states a “one-stop shop” to go for all their preparedness grants. Having just one federal entity to work with facilitates the process from the state perspective. All of our grant programs, with the exception of the FIRE Act grants, now fall under one grant application. And to make the process even more accessible, the applications are now all done on-line.
We are committed to maintaining the FIRE Act grant program and its separate integrity. We have made that agreement with the fire service. This year, we were also able to produce a CD-ROM to assist the fire service in applying for the FIRE Act grants. The Secretary (Tom Ridge) has made a commitment that it will continue to be administered as it has been administered in past years. There were more applications this year and awards have already started to go out.
Firehouse: As you assumed the responsibilities as director of ODP, what was the one thing that surprised you the most?
Mencer: I have been very impressed with the ODP staff and about how very knowledgeable they are about every state and every state’s needs. I knew how attentive they were to Colorado because they were so prompt in returning my calls – and this was before they knew I was going to be their boss! It speaks very well of them that this responsiveness wasn’t an anomaly, but was indeed the rule. They are very service-oriented to every state and territory. I’ve been amazed that such a small staff has processed such a large amount of money, and it’s amazing how well they know their states and clients.
ODP has approximately 140 staff, including contractors. That’s not very many people for the amount of money processed – in the past few years, the programs have increased from $200 million a year to $4 billion a year. It’s a huge undertaking, and every time I go out and speak, I get many comments on the courtesy, the competence and capability of our staff in dealing with questions and processing grant applications.
Firehouse: What other coordinated efforts will we see?
Mencer: ODP is working very closely with the DHS Science and Technology directorate. We’ll have one of their staff detailed to ODP to work with us on interoperability issues, and standards and technology in particular. There is also a strong, coordinated effort with Science and Technology’s SAFECOM. ODP also has the responsibility for the implementation of Homeland Security Presidential Directive 8 (HSPD 8), which is how we will measure the nation’s preparedness.
Firehouse: There has been mention that money may be shifting to support more training and drills?
Mencer: With so much money coming out so quickly, at some point the states will reach a point where they will feel they have all of the equipment that they need or can store. At that point, they will need to know how to use the equipment, how to train with the equipment and how to exercise with it.
I think we are going to see an increased need for training and exercises and I want to make sure that we in ODP are prepared for that when we start getting requests. We need to be training and exercising together to be better prepared. It is not effective to meet your counterpart from another agency for the first time during a disaster.
Firehouse: In what ways are you looking at working with the U.S. Fire Administration?
Mencer: We are always looking at ways to partner together. I meet regularly with Dave Paulison, the U.S. fire administrator, and we have a very good relationship. We have been meeting regularly to work on getting more approvals for courses that are currently FEMA/USFA-approved courses and having those ODP-approved so that states can use DHS money for those courses as well.
Three classes have been unconditionally approved for ODP funding, which include the Incident Command Team Course, the Unified Command Course, and the Command and General Staff Functions Course. The Incident Command Course is also undergoing some modifications, and when that is complete, we’ll be looking at that one as well.
The process of reviewing and approving classes has been accelerated. The three classes that were recently approved were reviewed and approved within three days. I am committed to this. I protect everybody here. And I want to make sure that the people on the front line doing the jobs we expect them to do have the tools they need to do them. There will be continued partnering with this process. We are one department and have the same goal to have a better-prepared America. However, we can do that. I am open and willing for any kind of suggestions.
Firehouse: One of the key processes of ODP is the distribution of grant funds. What are your thoughts on the process?
Mencer: Questions have been raised as to why the money is not getting down to the states and localities. What has been stated in a number of General Accounting Office (GAO) reports is that the problem has not been at the national level. Many of the problems have occurred at state and local levels due to procurement procedures, legislative approval requirements, backlog of orders from vendors, etc. The ODP staff is very understanding of the process and is very agreeable to working things out with the states without violating the law. They are as accommodating as they can be with any kind of deadline or problem the state may have.
Never has so much money gone out so quickly with the expectation that it be spent as quickly. This is a new process and we get better each time that we do it. Secretary Ridge has appointed a task force to look into these issues to see if there are ways to help resolve these problems. As Secretary Ridge has stated, “We are safer today than we were yesterday, and we will be safer tomorrow than we are today.” That process will continue.
Firehouse: Do you find that you need to educate legislators regarding these expectations?
Mencer: Yes. A lot of times, the states are telling their representatives that everyone is doing the best we can, but it’s a hard sell. Everyone wants the states and territories to be prepared now.
Firehouse: As for future ODP funds, there have been some reference that localities will have to adopt the National Incident Management System (NIMS). Will this be a requirement to receive ODP funds?
Mencer: That is correct. What’s more important than having command and control at the scene of a disaster?
Firehouse: When dealing with competitive funds, does a regional approach have priority over a simple local one?
Mencer: The stress from the Secretary and ODP has been a regional approach. I think it makes sense. It makes sense is because we are talking about homeland security preparedness.
A weapon of mass destruction (WMD) by definition overcomes the capability of any one community to deal with it. Therefore, it only makes sense that you look at a regional approach because there is not one city, one county and probably not one state that can handle a WMD event by themselves. More specifically, that means that they have to train together, have interstate compacts intact and memorandum of understandings to help one another in time of disaster.
Firehouse: Do you have any closing thoughts?
Mencer: I think we need to keep in mind that we need to be honest and open with each other. If there is a concern out there, I appreciate the people who come forward and voice it to me. I can’t fix a problem if I don’t know it exists.
To view or discuss privately or via a non-official channel does not help the situation. I am committed to fixing problems and enhancing existing and improving existing systems where I can. My only hope is to make things a little better than the way that I found them.
