The Johns Creek City Council recently updated an ordinance city officials say will reduce the number of false alarms being responded to by emergency response personnel.
The ordinance, which levies fines against business owners and homeowners who log excessive false alarms, has been a three city effort, along with Sandy Springs and Dunwoody, which have similiar ordinances, and will go into effect on May 1. Residents and businesses have until June 1 to register with the city to get a permit for any alarm that would summon city emergency personnel, according to Rosemary Taylor, communications director for of Johns Creek.
Johns Creek police officers and firefighters responded to nearly 6,000 false alarms last year, costing taxpayers $809,600.
“There is little incentive for people to fix their alarm if there is no ordinance,” City Manager, John Kachmar said. “Police and fire departments could be doing other things.”
About 90 percent of the false alarm calls the city receives are from commercial properties and 10 percent are residential, Kachmar said.
The city updated an older false alarms ordinance, which called for offenders to face criminal penalties, but was rarely enforced. Under the new law, offenders will be charged fines.
Residents and local businesses who have previously registered their alarms under the earlier ordinance will be notified to sign up for a new permit. There is no registration fee associated with applying for a new permit. Once issued, the permit must be renewed each year.
The three cities will now select a vendor to monitor the false alarms and issue the fines. The cities will share the same 911 system.
The ordinance includes the following penalties:
Not registering: Alarm owners will be fined $100 if they have not registered by June 1.
Fire calls: There is no penalty for the first alarm, but the owner is required to submit a report of service/repair that identifies and corrects the cause of the false fire alarm. For less than 10 false alarms, there is a $250 penalty per incident. For 10 or more false alarms, there is a $500 penalty per incident.
Police calls: There is no penalty for the first or second alarm. For less than six false alarms there is a $50 penalty per incident. With the sixth false alarm, there is a $100 penalty, with a $50 increase for the seventh false alarm. With the eighth false alarm, there is a $250 penalty, with a $100 increase for the ninth false alarm. For 10 or more false alarms, there is a $500 penalty per incident.
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