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Residents criticize Cypress alarm-registration fee; council notes $54 cost and suggests review during budget process
Summary
Public speakers told the council the alarm registration fee is unfair; council confirmed the FY24–25 fee is $54 and discussed possibly waiving it during a future budget review. The item was approved on the consent calendar.
Residents told the council they oppose an annual alarm registration fee that they said charges homeowners for a service the city does not actively monitor.
Bob Youngsma, a Cypress resident, said the city is “charging me to do nothing” and called the fee theft because residents’ alarm systems connect to private monitoring companies and the city does not routinely monitor private home alarms. Edwin Kramer and other commenters also raised objections to alarm permitting and questioned whether the fee discourages registration.
Council member Chang asked staff for the registration cost. Mr. Burton (staff) answered that the cost to register an alarm for fiscal year 2024–25 is $54. Chang suggested the council could consider absorbing the cost in the future and possibly waiving the fee during the budget process; staff said that would be appropriate to consider as part of the regular budget review.
The alarm registration item (item 8) was included and approved as part of the consent calendar (items 1–8) in the consent vote recorded as carrying unanimously with four yes votes.
Ending: Council members signaled willingness to review the fee during the budget process; no immediate change was made at the meeting.
