Residences and businesses in Wichita, Kan., with security alarms could soon pay monthly fees and face increasing fines for false alarms under a proposal by the City Council.
As currently being considered, the plan would create a monthly fee of $1 for residents, up to $2.50 for businesses and $9 for high-rise buildings, according to the The Wichita Eagle.
City officials recently proposed a $3 monthly fee for residents and $9 for businesses. However, council members said they felt that would put the burden of false alarms on people and businesses that don’t have any false dispatches.
Currently, alarm users pay a $40 fine after their first false alarm, although the city hasn’t been able to collect such fees recently because of a technical glitch between city and Sedgwick County computer systems, according to the newspaper.
Under the new proposal, that fine would increase with each unnecessary call. If a false dispatch is canceled within four minutes, there is no charge for the false alarm.
According to city statistics, the Wichita police department responds to roughly 23,000 false alarms each year.
