By Josh Kovner
Hartford Courant (Connecticut)
Copyright 2007 The Hartford Courant Company
All Rights Reserved
MIDDLETOWN, Conn. — So many people objected to the new alarm ordinance when the city trotted it out last month that officials have pulled it back and will introduce a revised set of rules next week, minus a $25 annual registration fee.
The intent of the ordinance is to reduce the amount of time police officers and firefighters spend dealing with false and malfunctioning alarms.
Requiring businesses, large institutions and homeowners to register all burglar, fire and panic alarms would provide emergency responders and dispatchers with the latest information on property owners, key-holders and contacts.
But there were a couple of problems. The first time most people learned about the ordinance -- and the $100 fine for failing to register by Jan. 31 -- was a Jan. 18 story in The Courant.
Also, of the three fire districts serving the city, only the city-administered Middletown Fire Department was involved in the planning.
That rubbed South Fire District and Westfield Fire District officials the wrong way.
The alarm ordinance will be enforced by the Middletown Fire Department’s alarm division. That’s a citywide unit, but the other fire districts had concerns about alarm registration fees being used to help fund the division.
“The fee’s gone. The most important aspect of this is that we get updated information on the registration forms,” said Geen Thazhampallath, aide to Mayor Sebastian Giuliano.
He said the common council would consider a revised ordinance at its Feb. 5 meeting.
A $100 fine would remain for those who fail to register each year, or who fail to notify the city within 10 days of any changes to the contact information.
If a new ordinance is adopted, registration forms will be available at Middletown fire headquarters, 533 Main St.; police headquarters, 222 Main St.; and city hall, 245 deKoven Drive.
The completed form would be mailed with a check and a self-addressed, stamped envelope to Middletown Alarm Division, 533 Main St., Middletown, CT 06457. The city will mail back a receipt and an alarm permit.
Alarm users could also register in person at Middletown fire headquarters.