Prince William County emergency-management officials told the Board of County Supervisors on Oct. 7 that a sharp reduction in Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) funding will force near-term program and staffing changes across the National Capital Region.

Brian Meisner, the county’s emergency management coordinator, said the latest district award issued by the regional coordination office arrived at about $4.4 million — a roughly 90% reduction from the $25 million level officials had been briefing local jurisdictions to expect. The UASI program supports regional preparedness projects such as interoperable communications, training, medical response and shared equipment.

“That reduction requires us to identify services that must transition to other funding sources by the end of the local fiscal year,” Meisner said. County staff said the expected out-year impacts include a need to assume continued support for previously grant-funded positions and projects. Meisner said, for fiscal 2026, the county’s early estimate of what it would need to find internally or through partners is about $400,000; continuing all projects in fiscal 2027 could increase local costs by roughly $5.9 million, producing a cumulative $1.3 million gap for near-term planning (staff noted the figures are evolving as the district and regional partners finalize decisions).

Meisner and county executives said the reduction also affects the Northern Virginia Emergency Response System (a regional medical and hazard response partnership) and interoperability projects that have been sustained by federal grant layers; some communications capital purchases funded by UASI have limited-band equipment that will still require future replacement or compatibility work.

County leaders said they are coordinating regionally through Northern Virginia governance bodies and will present a prioritized list of core services to sustain. Officials said the state has signaled it will reallocate some State Homeland Security Program (SHSP) funds to designated response teams and that the Emergency Management Performance Grant is also at risk of variability.

“While federal preparedness grants have decreased, our threat profile has not,” Meisner said. County staff highlighted the operational difficulty of shifting responsibilities mid-year and urged board support for a structured review of near-term budget adjustments, regional coordination, and identification of critical projects to preserve.

Supervisors asked about precise dollar impacts and near-term options; staff said more detailed numbers and recommendations would come in the weeks ahead after regional steering groups meet and the county’s emergency-management and budget staff finalize estimates.