THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, January 21, 1996 TAG: 9601190277
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 07 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY KATRICE FRANKLIN, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Short : 33 lines
To curb confusion, the City Council voted unanimously Wednesday to indefinitely suspend Suffolk's newly enacted false alarm ordinance.
During a work session, council members said the ordinance was unfair because it forced some residents to pay the city on top of already paying an alarm company to service their systems.
``I think this is wrong,'' said Councilman Sammuel Carter. ``We need to word this thing where if I'm having trouble and I pay the alarm company, then I shouldn't be made to pay the city, too.''
Mayor Chris Jones questioned the effectiveness of the ordinance.
``Sometimes the cure is worse than the cause,'' Jones said.
False alarms have long plagued the city's police and fire departments.
Because of the size of Suffolk, the council proposed the false alarm ordinance to dissuade residents from calling for non-emergency reasons.
The ordinance, which took effect Jan. 1, required residential and business burglar alarm system users to obtain a $30 permit fee from the city within 30 days.
The Fire and Police Department also charged service fees based on time, personnel and the type of equipment used when a false alarm triggered the departments to respond. by CNB