PORTLAND – Portland is putting teeth into its widely ignored requirement that home and business owners who have burglar alarms — and the security companies that monitor those systems — register with the city.

And it will be more costly for those whose alarms go off when they shouldn’t.

The new rules for alarms take effect this month, and include new fees.

For individuals, alarms will cost $35 to register for the first time and $25 a year for renewals. Security companies that monitor alarms will pay $100 to register initially and $75 for two-year renewals. The companies also must provide background checks on employees who install the alarms.

The city has had a rule calling for alarm owners and companies to register, but it “really hasn’t been enforced,” said City Councilor Edward Suslovic, who heads the council’s Public Safety Committee. The panel endorsed the new system of fees before it was adopted by the council last month.

Suslovic noted that other communities collect fees from alarm owners because homes and businesses with alarms generally require higher levels of service from police and firefighters. Portland’s fees, he said, are comparable with those in neighboring communities.

Most security alarms are installed by companies that monitor the systems and call police when an alarm is tripped.

The fees, at least initially, will largely go toward covering the cost of the new registration system, said Mary Costigan, a city attorney. She said the city will have to set up a registry, then start tracking whether alarms that police respond to are properly registered.

Assistant Police Chief Michael Sauschuck said computer software will be used to track alarm calls and match them up with the registry. He said he doesn’t know how many alarms there are in the city.

The registry will help police contact an owner more quickly when an alarm goes off, Sauschuck said. If police find that a house has been broken into, he said, it’s important to let the homeowner know quickly and start getting information on any stolen items to patrol officers.

He said the registry will allow police to contact owners when alarms are malfunctioning, so police and fire crews can avoid repeated responses to alarms that are going off when they shouldn’t.

That could save homeowners money — because fees for malfunctioning alarms are going up.

In the past, the city charged $100 for each false alarm after the third in a year. Now, the $100 fee will kick in after two false alarms. Then the charge will be $150 for each false alarm from the fourth to the sixth, and $200 per instance if there are seven or more in a year.

Fees will be waived for false alarms that are caused by power outages or wind.

Suslovic said police and fire crews must respond the same way to every alarm, because “they can’t assume it’s false.”

He said he went on a “ride-around” with police recently when they responded to an alarm at 100 Middle St. — across the street from the police station. It turned out that a cleaning crew had entered an incorrect code to turn off the alarm.

Staff Writer Edward D. Murphy can be contacted at 791-6465 or at:

emurphy@pressherald.com

 

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