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Lawrence, Kansas, Considers False Alarm Fees

Lawrence, Kansas city commissioners were presented with a list of ways the city could start 
raising more money from fire and medical operations to help pay for what the fire chief 
said is a serious need to replace aging fire engines.

Among the ideas: charging people and businesses for false fire alarms, and charging 
Kansas University and Haskell Indian Nations University for nonmedical emergency calls 
that the department makes to the campuses.

The false fire alarm fee appeared to have some traction with commissioners and staff 
members.

“I don’t have a problem charging fees for false alarms,” Mayor Mike Dever said. “I would 
just like to know how common it is.”

City Manager David Corliss said staff members would be studying the issue closely as the 
city puts together a 2009 budget, which is expected to be one of the tighter budgets in 
recent memory. Corliss said staff members likely would look at the false alarm concept 
for security alarms that the police department responds to.

Fire Chief Mark Bradford estimates that if the city charged $25 per false alarm, the city 
could collect about $18,000 per year. The city had about 700 false fire alarms in 2007.

The bigger revenue generator, though, would be to charge fees to KU and Haskell for some 
services. Bradford estimated that the city could collect about $185,000 if the 
universities were charged $500 for non-EMS related responses it made. In 2007, KU had 325 
such calls and Haskell had 48.

But that idea may be a tough sell in City Hall.

“When we’ve looked at that in the past, it has always come back as something we’ve 
decided not to do,” Corliss said.

He said any analysis of the idea would have to measure what the university provides to 
the city for free or little cost. For example, the headquarters for the fire and medical 
department sits on property owned by Kansas University Endowment Association.