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10. Ordinance 1311 - Amending False Alarm Fees - 2nd ReadingThe Kalispell 0:iMi�,gi1�C��i FROM: SUBJECT: MEETING DATE: 13 May 1999 HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL FRANK GARNER, CHIEF OF POLICE CHRIS A. KUKULSKI, CITY MANAGER ALARM FEES MAY 17, 1999 Department BACKGROUND: The Police Department responds to over five hundred (500) false alarms a year. That requires a significant dedication of our resources as each alarm requires we respond as if the alarm was, in fact, valid. In the past, the city has charged a fee for that response. The current policy provided for four (4) free alarm responses followed by a fee of twenty-five dollars ($25.00) for each subsequent alarm response. The proposed fee schedule would reduce the number of free alarm responses to one and then graduate the alarm fee from twenty dollars ($20.00) on the second alarm response to fifty dollars ($50.00) on the fourth alarm and any subsequent alarm response. See attached alarm schedule. This increase should discourage false alarms while not discouraging reporting. This fee schedule mirrors that of the City of Helena and is appropriate when compared to other cities in the region. This fee schedule was last updated over ten years ago. RECOMENDATIONS: It is recommended the City Council adopt the new alarm ordinance on second reading. FISCAL EFFECTS: There will be a slight increase in revenue as a result. The estimated annual increase is approximately three thousand dollars ($3, 000. 00) . ALTERNATIVES: As suggested by the City Council. Respectfully submitted /J7 � � /�) Frank Garner Chief of Police Chris Kukulski City Manager Report compiled on May 11, 1999 Q0 ¢�'yq Frank Garner, Chief of Police • Jim Brown, Asst. Chief of Police • KPD phone (406) 758-7780, FAX (406) 758-7799 300 1st Ave. East, Kalispell, MT 59901 _M 2 ORDINANCE NO. 1311 AN ORDINANCE AMENDING ORDINANCE NO. 1094, BY REVISING THE FEE SCHEDULE FOR MONITORING BURGLAR AND FIRE ALARMS BY THE POLICE AND FIRE DEPARTMENTS AND IMPOSING A PENALTY FOR FALSE ALARMS, AND ESTABLISHING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. WHEREAS, the City of Kalispell established the fees for monitoring burglar and fire alarms by the police and fire departments and imposed a penalty for false alarms through Ordinance No. 1094 on March 2, 1987; and WHEREAS, the police and fire departments have determined that the rates established in Ordinance No. 1094 are in need of updating. BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF KALISPELL, MONTANA AS FOLLOWS: SECTION I. That the fees charged by the City of Kalispell police and fire department for responding to a false alarm as set forth in §III, Ordinance No. 1094 are hereby amended as follows: (A) The first false alarm in the calendar year is free; (B) The second false alarm in the same calendar year is $20.00; (C) The third false alarm in the same calendar year is $30.00; (D) The fourth false alarm in the same calendar year is $40.00; and (E) The fifth and any subsequent false alarm in the same calendar year is $50.00. SECTION II. All parts and portions of this Ordinance not amended hereby shall remain the same. SECTION III. This Ordinance shall take effect thirty (30) days from and after its passage by the City Council.