Urgent: False Alarm Rates Are Increasing!

Alarm Engineering
March 20, 2013
IF YOU ARE WITHIN SALISBURY CITY LIMITS:
ACTION REQUIRED: FALSE ALARM PENALTY RATES ARE INCREASING! 
Members of the Business Community, 

The City of Salisbury has passed an ordinance changing the fees/fines charged for false alarms. Council members are on record stating to the news media that they have reduced the false alarm fees, however this is incorrect. Not only are the new fees higher, but they are also higher than virtually any other jurisdiction in the country.

The graph and table below compare the old and new fees, and show who is impacted:

Police Dispatches Old fees Old Annual cost New fees New Annual cost Annual  difference % change 1 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 0% 2 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 0% 3 $50 $50 $246 $246 $196 392% 4 $100 $150 $246 $492 $342 228% 5 $150 $300 $246 $738 $438 146% 6 $200 $500 $246 $984 $484 97% 7 $250 $750 $246 $1,230 $480 64% 8 $300 $1,050 $246 $1,476 $426 41% 9 $400 $1,450 $246 $1,722 $272 19% 10 $500 $1,950 $246 $1,968 $18 1% 11 $600 $2,550 $246 $2,214 -$336 -13% 12 $700 $3,250 $246 $2,460 -$790 -24% 13 $800 $4,050 $246 $2,706 -$1,344 -33% 14 $1,000 $5,050 $246 $2,952 -$2,098 -42% As shown above, the home or business that experiences a third false alarm sees a 392% increasein the fee/fine. Any location experiencing 3-10 false alarms will pay a higher fee than before. On the other end of the spectrum, those using/abusing the city's resources the most, with 14 false alarms, receive a 42% discount. Giving frequent flyer discounts to those who have the most calls for service is totally contrary to the purpose of the fee/fine. Despite all the talk about Salisbury being more "business friendly", this proposed increase will have an even more significant impact on businesses. There are more commercial than residential alarm customers within the city limits. Businesses also typically experience more false alarms than homes, due to many factors including: multiple users/employees, employee turnover, off hour deliveries, etc. Ironically, the large majority of the owners of the businesses impacted do not live in the city, and therefore have no vote. In summation, the vast majority of those affected by a false alarm fee will pay more, significantly more. The very small number of people experiencing 11 or more false alarms in a year, are the only ones benefiting from a fee reduction, yet they are the ones putting the most strain on the city's limited resources. Escalating fee/fine structures like the one Salisbury had in place prior to this change, are in use in almost all jurisdictions across the country, are proven to significantly reduce the number of false alarms, and have been successfully defended in many courts. We urge you to contact all city representatives today to voice your opposition to the new "False Alarm Fee Schedule for Police Response": Mayor Jim Ireton: 410-548-3100, jireton@ci.salisbury.md.us Council Vice President Debbie Campbell: 410-860-0893, debbiescampbell@comcast.net Council President Terry Cohen: 410-845-0296, terryecohen@gmail.com Councilwoman Laura Mitchell: 410-422-2694, Laura@lauramitchell.org Councilwoman Shanie Shields: 443-523-0084, sshields820@aol.com Councilman Tim Spies: 410-219-5209, tspies@cavtel.net Regards,  Ron Boltz President & CEO Alarm Engineering