The City is now accepting registrations for monitored alarms.
Invoices for the registration fee will be sent in September and October.
The fee is $15 for residential alarm systems and $25 for commercial and other alarm systems.
“Residents have clearly indicated that the bylaw to address false alarms is important to them, and that they want to help the registration process move forward quickly,” says Mayor Kerry Cook. “In response, we will now accept early registration for monitored alarms, and the deadline to register remains the same — Oct. 30.”
All monitored alarm holders in the city are reminded that they are required to register their alarms with the City of Williams Lake. Registration can be done in person at city hall. Alarm holders are asked to pick up a registration form from Development Services at city hall and fill it out completely. Required information includes: name, phone number, address, alarm company name, type of alarm (intrusion, panic, silent, holdup), and the keyholder (who will respond when an alarm is triggered).
After Oct. 30, an automatic $100 fee will be charged for the RCMP or fire department to respond to a non-registered alarm.
Fees for excessive false alarms start at $150 and will be applied after three false alarms in a 365-day period. Emergency service providers will continue to respond to all alarms, regardless of how many false alarms have been reported at an address.
Statistics show false alarms in the city cost the RCMP and Williams Lake Fire Department in excess of $140,000 a year.