posted on Thursday, February 28, 2008 10:40 AM
by
klehan
Fremont, NC, May Charge for False Alarms
In
North Carolina, the Fremont Town Board moved Tuesday night to explore the
possibility of charging fees for an excessive number of false burglar and fire
alarms.
Goldsboro, NC, already has a fee structure in place that allows residents three "free" false alarms caused by human error -- not "acts of God" such as weather -- for businesses and homes. After the three freebies, residents are assessed a fine of up to $100, depending on the number of false alarms.
The Wayne County Sheriff's Office also recently announced it would investigate the idea of charging similar fees. False alarm problems often can be fixed by alarm maintenance or by identifying and replacing problem parts in the system, Sheriff's Office Maj. Ray Smith has said.
Fremont town administrator Kerry McDuffie said that he would ask the town's legal representative to compose an ordinance that aldermen could consider at a later meeting.