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\ <br />REQUEST FOR COUNCIL ACTION <br />n, <br />DATE: December ^ 1997 <br />O <br />ITEM NO: / V <br />Department Approval: <br />Name Ron Moorse <br />Title City Administrator <br />Administrator Reviewed:Agenda Section: <br />City Administrator's <br />Report <br />Item Description: <br />Fire, Burglary and Safety Alarm Regulations and Requirements - Ordinance Amendment <br />Attachment: Proposed Ordinance Amending the City's Fire, Burglary and Safety Alarm Regulations <br />and Requirements <br />BacKgrowid <br />Both the Orono Police Department and the Long Lake Fire Department respond to a large number <br />of false alarm calls. Not only ;s this expensive in terms of staff time and \ ehicle usage, it also <br />unnecessarily puts staff at risk in emergency response situations. The Police Department responds <br />to 792 alarm calls per year. This is 10% of the total calls for the Police Department in a year. 99% <br />of the alarm calls are false alarms caused by either by mechanical failure of the alarm system or by <br />human error in improperly setting the alarm or accidentally tripping the alarm. This means that <br />nearly all false alarms are easily avoidable. <br />The city currently has an ordinance that authorizes a fee schedule for false police alarms. The <br />purpose of the fee schedule is first to recover at least a portion ot the costs of responding to the false <br />alarm, and second to provide an incentive for those with alarms to ensure they operate correctly. The <br />current ordinance allows three false alarms per calendar year without a fee. This fee schedule does <br />not accomplish either of the purposes indicated above. Therefore, it is recommended the ordinance <br />be amended to enable an alarm user to be charged a user fee once the alarm system reports more than <br />one false alarm in a single calendar year. <br />The recommended ordinance amendment is attached for Council adoption. <br />COUNCIL ACTION REQUESTED: <br />Motion to adopt the attached Ordinance amending Ordinance No. 9.35 Entitled "Fire, Burglary and <br />Safety Alarm Regulations and Requirements" to enable a false alarm fee to be charged when a public <br />safety alarm system reports more than one false alarm to the city in a single calendar year.