Bridgeport is in line for nearly $137,000, followed by $131,000 for New Haven and $123,000 for Hartford.

Wayne Sandford, deputy commissioner of the state's Department of Emergency Management and Homeland Security, said communities have to identify their eligible projects by Aug. 30.

"We realize there's a very short time frame," he said, noting that federal officials set up the schedule.

The funds are divided among two grants: one for law-enforcement needs that typically go directly to police departments, and a second amount for other local security programs. Many security expenses — but not all — could qualify under either funding option, he said.

The grants to municipalities are based on population and the size of their police forces, and Bridgeport, as the state's largest city, generally stands to gain the most under that formula.

The city emergency management director, Scott Appleby, said Wednesday that Bridgeport would have to review how it might use the funds.

"We have to go down our priority list and see what we haven't purchased," he said. He said prospects include generators for the Health Department or a reverse 911 alert system.

In previous years, the city's purchases have included personal protective equipment for police, fire and ambulance personnel and search-and-rescue equipment for the Fire Department.

But, he said, federal aid has dwindled from the onset of the grants two years ago, when the city received nearly $1 million.

Sandford said the state's allocations have suffered overall. This year, he said, Connecticut received $13.5 million compared with $25 million this year.

He said the state is working to encourage regional projects with the bulk of its grant money. Already, he said, there is a regional hazardous materials response team. A state committee of several dozen fire and police officials evaluating potential threats determined the three most likely would be a hurricane, the ripple effects from a terrorist attack in New York City and an incident at the Millstone nuclear power plant in Waterford.

Sandford said an incident at Waterford would be considered more serious than one at the Indian Point nuclear plant in Buchanan, N.Y., because it's in Connecticut.

"The effects would be immediate," he observed.

He added, however, many types of security threats were considered by the committee, and much could quite literally depend on how the wind is blowing on a particular day.

While every community is eligible to receive funding this year, Sandford indicated the federal government may not be so generous next year.

"If funding is given out in '07, it's probably be based on some threat formula," he said.

Under this year's formulas, the aid for Fairfield County communities would be:

Easton, $7,545.22; Fairfield $40,738.56; Monroe, $16,509.25; Shelton, $24,098.08; Stratford, $37,793.84, and Trumbull, $26,948.20.

In New Haven County: Ansonia could get $17,010.08; Beacon Falls, $5,644.27; Derby, $12,121.26; Milford, $38,819; Oxford, $6,329.10; and Seymour, $15,793.96.

Susan Silvers, who covers regional issues, can be reached at 330-6426.