Fannin swaps drafts on Alarm Ordinance with changes
News August 3, 2022
FANNIN COUNTY, Ga. – Set to take effect in September, Fannin County approved its new Alarm Ordinance in June 2022, but indicated the wrong draft in the official motion. July saw the board rectify this with a new motion indicating the intended draft of the ordinance for use.
The ordinance had noted changes between the drafts. Fannin Board of Commissioners (BOC) Chairman Jamie Hensley stated that there were originally three drafts being considered.
With 377 alarms coming to the Sheriff’s Office during 2022 in Fannin County at the end of June, the county, Hensley said only two of the alarms “were legit.” One of the major changes noted in the meeting was that alarms without verification will not see law enforcement dispatched to locations. Hensley read the highlighted change stating, “The alarm activation alone, without verification, will not be dispatched for law enforcement response.”
Hensley said that a call from homeowners or those with visuals alongside the alarm activation could be that verification. Later, the board also noted that verification could be a separate entry notification after the first in a different area of the home. It could also be cameras on site providing the verification. Additionally, Hensley noted that law enforcement will not respond to non-permitted residential burglar alarms.
Further in the new draft, speaking to alarm companies it is noted, “Failure to provide verification within 24 hours of dispatching law enforcement could result in the placement of the residence on a do-not-respond list.”
Post Commissioner Glenn Patterson stated, “Basically, it puts the responsibility back, to some extent, on the the person that’s getting the alarm. We decided to do that due to the very high number of police dispatches that has went out there.”
Fannin Board of Commissioners Chairman Jamie Hensley
The commissioners noted that many alarms like this come from animals like squirrels or renters who are staying at the locations. Post Commissioner Johnny Scearce said many places have alarms continuously going off from simple things like wind blowing and rattling doors or windows. Some people even tell you they aren’t coming to a rental residence after so many alarm activations.
Hensley assured citizens saying, “If somebody needs law enforcement, they’re going to come.” He also went on to note that this only changes for law enforcement. Fire alarms and medical emergencies will still respond to all alarms.
The county also set up a fine for false alarms beginning at third dispatches. There are no charges for first and second false alarms. However, there is a $100 fine for failure to register alarm systems. With the third false alarm response within a permit year will see a $150 fine. The fourth false alarm will be $250. The fifth false alarm within at permit year will be fined $500.
The draft was approved unanimously by the board.
Commissioners hold public hearing for ordinance amendments
Board of Commissioners February 9, 2022
FANNIN, Ga. — The Fannin County Board of Commissioners held two public hearings to discuss ordinance amendments. In the subsequent regular meeting the board approved purchases for the Fire Department.
Public Hearings
The first public hearing was set to discuss an ordinance that would “enact an excise tax on any room or rooms, lodgings, or accommodations furnished by any person or legal entity for operating within the special district a hotel, motel, inn, lodge, tourist camp, tourist cabin, rental cabin, residential home or any other place in which rooms, lodgings, or accommodations are regularly furnished for value.”
In section V, the ordinance notes: “There is hereby set and levied on the occupant of a short-term rental accommodation located within the special district a tax in the amount of six per cent (6%) of the rent for such occupancy.” The ordinance will also create an annual administrative fee of $100 for “any operator, owner, private entity, marketplace facilitator, lodging tax compliance company, manager, business or person under the purview of the within ordinance.” The ordinance is set to be adopted on Feb. 22, 2022, and can be read here.
The second public hearing of the evening dealt with false alarms that are becoming an issue for the county’s first responders. The ordinance would effect alarm users, defined by the ordinance as “any person, corporation, partnership, proprietorship, governmental or educational entity or any other entity owning, leasing, or operating an alarm system, or on whose premises an alarm system is maintained for the protection of such premises.”
Representatives for the Fannin County Fire Department spoke at the public hearing, explaining that an average response to a call costs around $300. Out of 66 alarm calls last year, he noted that every single call was a false alarm. Similarly, the Fannin County Police Department, according to Sheriff Kirby, answers 800 false alarm calls a year. To respond to the issue, the board plans to implement fines for those with excessive amounts of false alarm calls. The ordinance notes: “It is hereby found and determined that three or more false alarms within a permit year is excessive, constitutes a public nuisance, and shall be unlawful.” The penalty for false alarms in one year will begin on the third occurrence with a fine of $150. The price increases after every occurrence, capping at $500 for the fifth and following. The full ordinance can be read here.
New Business
The Sheriff also spoke to the board about his intention to begin the process of purchasing X-ray body scanners for the county’s detention center. He explained to the board that heroin and fentanyl are being brought into the jail. Sheriff Kirby said to the board: “We’ve had three overdoses in the jail … this stuff is near impossible to find, even in a strip search.”
The board also approved a $12,000 purchase of 1.98 acres to be used for Fire Station #5 and approved the purchase of a new door for Fire Station #3.
At the end of the meeting, the board shared comments on the recent death of Corporal Gazaway and his wife. Chairman Jamie Hensley spoke to those in attendance saying, “It is truly amazing how this community has come together. I also wanted to commend our neighboring counties … The law enforcement from Union County and Gilmer County stepped up and covered calls here in Fannin County to allow our deputies to go to this funeral.”