Beginning this fall, fines for false alarms in Sandy Springs will fall on alarm companies that provide monitoring services rather than on homeowners and businesses.
After a sometimes testy exchange between city officials and alarm company owners who opposed the change, the City Council recently voted to hold the companies responsible for police and fire false alarms — which was the case for 97 percent of the alarm calls to 911 last year, officials said.
Fines are $25 for the first false alarm, rising to $250 for the second or third and to $500 for four or more within a 24-month period. Also, after the fourth false alarm within 24 months, the city will no longer respond to an activated alarm system at that address.
The city’s alarm ordinance, passed in 2012, previously had property owners subject to fines. The changes take effect Sept. 1, with a 30-day grace period before fines are imposed.
The city logged nearly 12,000 false alarms in 2016 and spent more than $775,000 in estimated personnel costs responding to them, officials said.
“There has been a lot of talk about fines, but the real issue is that the system today doesn’t work,” said Sandy Springs Mayor Rusty Paul. “We need better verification of these calls before they enter our 911 system, and that means better communication between the alarm company and the customers who pay for their services.”
Information: http://bit.ly/2ubABcY
About the Author
