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West Texans Help Oklahoma Victims
City of Odessa: You Must Register Your Alarms 1/14/13
Editor’s Note: The following is a news release from the City of Odessa.
The City of Odessa has recently amended its ordinance (2012-28) governing alarm registrations. In accordance with the revised ordinance, all commercial and residential alarms will have to be first registered with the Police Department and then re-registered on an annual basis.
NOTE: If an alarm is already registered with the Odessa Police Department, one will only have to re-register the alarm during this process and pay the annual re-registration fee of $15.00.
The registration and renewal fees are listed below:
RESIDENTIAL ALARMS::
New (First time) Registration Fee: $20.00
Annual Re-registration Fee: $15.00
COMMERCIAL ALARMS:
New (First time) Registration Fee: $25.00
Annual Re-registration Fee: $20.00
In order to register one’s alarm, whether it be for the first time or a re-register, one can use any of the following procedures:
1. Mail in registration form-Print and complete form which is available on-line on the Police Department web site and mail in the appropriate fee. (Personal checks will be accepted. The Department doesn’t recommend sending cash through the mail.)
2. Register in person at the Police Department-Registration form can be obtained in person and completed at the Police Department. (Personal checks & cash will be accepted.)
3. On-line registration-The preferred option which will allow alarm owners to create and manage their own accounts. A link to the on-line registration is located on the Police Department’s web site. (Payment must be made via a credit card.)
The Department is in the process of sending reminder notices to those who currently have alarms registered. Letters will be sent on a monthly basis utilizing an alphabet system. For example, in January, alarm registrants whose last name or business name started with the letters “A” or “B” were given notice that their alarms needed to be re-registered. This process will allow for the Department to manage the alarm registrations in a more efficient manner. (One doesn’t have to wait until they receive a notice to pay the alarm fees. Again, we encourage our citizens to utilize the on-line process.)
For those individuals who have already been charged and have paid $20.00 (residential ) or $25.00 (commercial) for a “new” alarm fee when they were merely re-registering, they will be receiving a $5.00 refund from the City of Odessa if they mailed in their money or if they paid at the Police Department. Credit card reimbursements will be handled by the on-line provider.
To prevent future billing issues when utilizing the on-line system, users will be asked to check a box to indicate whether they want to re-register (renew) or establish a new alarm (first time) account.