LTC 132-2019 Alarm Program MIAMI .BEACH
OFFICE OF THE CITY MANAGER
NO. LTC# 132_2019 LETTER TO COMMISSION
;TO: Mayor Dan Gelber and Members oil. the City CI mission
FROM: Jimmy L. Morales, City Manager.'
DATE: March 11, 2019
SUBJECT: Alarm Program
The purpose of the Letter to Commission is to update the Mayor and Commission on the
status of the City's new false alarm billing process.
In an effort to reduce false alarms for both police and fire within the City of Miami Beach,
the City updated its alarm ordinance and partnered with PMAM Corporation to implement
and administer the Alarm Program and provide educational training for our citizens.
PMAM is a national company with expertise in this area and is responsible for our,alarm
registration and for false alarm billing services.
The City executed an agreement with PMAM (a Texas based company) to be the police
and fire false alarm billing third-party administrator. This company is tasked with
managing the day-to-day functions of false alarm billing. These tasks include registering
alarms (collecting registration fees), billing for false alarms when appropriate, and the
overall managing of the process according to established city code and ordinances.
The "Go-Live" for PMAM's new billing procedures was originally scheduled for fall of
2018 but was deliberately postponed to January 1st in order to allow for community
outreach. A piece was published in MB Line Magazine, and efforts were made through
e-mail blasts and various social media platforms to get information out to residents about
this new process. (See links, below.)
After Go-Live occurred in January, the Police Department discovered a problem in how
the ordinance was being interpreted. The ordinance allows for a waiver of the $10.00
registration fee if the permit holder did not experience a false alarm in the previous
calendar year. Upon Go-Live, the City of Miami Beach had 7,052 permit holders with
active alarm registrations. During the preceding 12 months, only 702 of these had
experienced a false alarm activation. Therefore, according to the ordinance, only these
702 would have been subject to the $10.00 permit renewal fee. The remaining 6,350
permit holders should have only received a renewal application for 2019.
To correct this error, the City has opted to allow for a grace period for calendar year
2019. Any invoices sent to property owners whose alarm systems are registered have
been cancelled and should not be paid. PMAM will refund renewal fees paid by any of
the initial 7,052 registered alarm permit holders. Effective January 1, 2020, all provisions
of the ordinance will be enforced.
Any commercial or residential properties who have not registered their alarm with PMAM
and who trigger a false alarm activation that requires a police or fire response will be
required to register the alarm with PMAM and pay the required $10.00 fee. In these
instances, PMAM will send the property owner a notice of the false alarm and provide
him or her with a registration application.
The City's Communications Department and Police Department will continue to engage
in additional community outreach through our various platforms to inform our
constituents of our partnership with PMAM Corporation. The City Manager will also send
a letter to all permitted alarm holders with a full explanation about the program.
Please see below for various CMB website links relating to the issue, the MB LINE
edition with the article, and examples of communication outreach that was done prior to
going live.
https://issuu.com/cityofmiamibeach/docs/mbfall2018final/12
https://www.miamibeachfl.gov/city-hall/police/useful-resourcesiregister-a-burglar-alarm/
https://www.miamibeachfl.gov/city-hall/police/false-alarm-reduction/
https://www.miamibeachfl.gov/city-hall/policeuseful-resources/alarmpurchasing-guidelines)
https://www.miamibeachfl.gov/city-hall/police/false-alann-reduction/false-alarm-reduction-
program-fags'
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