A Tuesday evening vote by the Hoschton, Ga., city council now means that alarm system owners will have to register with the city.
System owners will have to get a $10 permit with the city. According to local officials, the permitting requirement stemmed from a problem with a high number of false alarms, and the permit fee is reportedly designed to allow police to be able to contact those homeowners whose false alarms are plaguing the system.
The ordinance also places fines for false alarms. The first two false alarms in a year are "free," while the third, fourth and fifth false alarms will cost the system owner $25 each in fines. Fines are raised to $50 upon the sixth false alarm.
