ANCHORAGE, Alaska – The police department here is worried it could lose up to $265,000 in fees due to a recent revision to the city’s false alarm ordinance.
The city of Anchorage’s former ordinance waived the fee for first time offenders. However, the fee would increase for every additional false alarm and kept track of each time police responded to a residence or business over the years, KTUU.com reports.
Additionally, alarm owners had to pay a yearly registration fee of $25.
The amended ordinance still waives the fee for first-time offenders and will increase in price for every additional false alarm.
However, at the beginning of each year, the number of false alarms for each home will be reset to zero. The new law also charges a one-time registration fee of $50.
Anchorage Police Chief Mark Mew stated that although the fees will be less expensive for homeowners, he’s concerned that the ordinance change will result in more false alarms and wasted time for the department.
Mew noted that staffing for the police department is low, and the department is reviewing ways to reduce the call for service load.
The department currently responds to roughly 5,500 alarms annually. Of those, 97% are false, Mew says.
