posted on Friday, September 19, 2008 10:03 AM
by
klehan
Wilmington, DE, Eliminates Alarm Permit Renewal Fee
The $20 annual renewal fee associated with the
Wilmington, DE, False Alarm Program was eliminated by City Council Thursday night.
The program, which went into effect last October, is designed to reduce the amount of false alarms from security systems in homes and businesses so police have more time to respond to legitimate calls.
Council voted 12-1 in favor with Councilwoman Hanifa Shabazz dissenting.
To date, the program appears to be successful. Before the program went into effect, the city responded to about 14,000 alarms each year -- about half of them false. Since Oct. 1, there have been only 4,724 alarms in the city, said Lt. Bruno Battaglia, the program’s administrator.
But many constituents objected to the renewal fee, so Councilman Michael A. Brown Sr. introduced the measure to eliminate it.
“This program was never about making money,” he said. “It was about making folks more aware of how their alarm system operates.”
First-timers to register their systems still have to pay a one-time $20 fee, Battaglia said. And existing participants would have to pay again if they move or get a new system.
When the program began, city officials thought the renewal fees would be necessary for administrative costs, but now fines and penalties can pay for that, Battaglia said.
The program has generated around $298,000, Battaglia said. About $93,000 has been from registration fees and $204,000 has been from fines and penalties.
The first two false alarms are free. After that, fines for homeowners range from $100 to $250 and commercial properties’ fines begin at $250 and top out at $550.
The program is mandatory, but Battaglia said many people have rolled the dice in hopes that their alarm never goes off by accident. That’s an expensive proposition, as the penalty for not registering and having police respond is $100, in addition to the program’s existing fine structure.
Battaglia said the program has made security system owners more accountable. Examples include a day care center moving mobiles from the ceiling that were repeatedly setting off alarms and a homeowner who finally fixed a faulty sensor in their door rather than facing fines.
“Small things like that free us up to respond to the kinds of calls we really need to get to,” he said.
The vendor, Affiliated Computer Services, will still receive the same amount of money to run the program, city Communications Director John Rago said.