Delray Beach to charge for alarm systems

By Palm Beach Business.com

DELRAY BEACH — It’s about to get a little more expensive to have a monitored alarm system in Delray Beach.

Delray Beach City Commission is scheduled Tuesday evening to consider first reading of an ordinance that would authorize the city to charge a $25 registration fee on all alarm systems in the city and a $30 annual renewal fee. The ordinance also would create a graduated systems of fines for false alarms, beginning with $50 for the fourth false alarm in a year and working up to as much as $200.

The city has charged a $10 registration fee on alarm systems since the 1990s but not charged for renewals.

It’s expected that the ordinance will generate $375,000 annually for the cash-starved city if approved Tuesday and on second reading Jan. 4. And while commissioners could decide against implementing the fee, it’s unlikely that they would do so, since the fee is already built into the budget.

In another budget matter, commissioners will consider first reading of an ordinance that will allow the city to charge a returned check fee of $25 or 5 percent of the face value of a bad check, which ever is greater.