Sandy Springs Alarm Ordinance Could Cost Citizens and Businesses Millions
Sandy Springs residents and businesses who use alarm systems to protect lives and property will have to invest millions of dollars in new equipment to continue to receive police response under the city’s alarm ordinance set to go into effect on June 19, according to the Security Industry Alarm Coalition (SIAC).
“If you estimate conservatively using $500 per system to upgrade to video or audio verification the total cost for approximately 10,000 business and residential alarm owners would come to $7 million,” said Scott Hightower, president of the Georgia Electronic Life Safety & Systems Association. “If the average cost of upgrades is $1,000, the cost would come to approximately $14 million. The figure does not include any additional monitoring costs that may be incurred over time. If only half of alarm owners decided to upgrade their systems to video or audio the cost would come to $3.5 million.