Police seek tougher false-alarm penalties; safety committee moves alarm ordinance to third reading

Tallmadge police asked council on April 24 to tighten the city’s alarm ordinance after the department reported hundreds of alarm responses last year and repeated false alarms from a small number of commercial sites.

Captain Eichler told the Safety Committee that the department recorded 811 alarms in 2024 across commercial and residential categories. He said about two-thirds were commercial burglary alarms and that a single business generated 158 alarms in 2024—roughly 28 percent of total calls. That business continued to generate frequent alarms in early 2025, Eichler said; in the first quarter of 2025 the department logged 149 commercial burglary alarms and that company accounted for 58 of them.

Under the proposed changes in Ordinance 2025-48 (sponsored by Mayor Kilway), the number of free false alarms would be reduced from four to three within a six-month window; the ordinance would permit billing every 30 days with a $50 fee per alarm and remove the prior $500 six-month cap. Eichler said the change would give the city more leverage to reduce repeat false alarms and preserve officer availability—particularly for businesses at the edge of town where response requires longer travel.

Eichler said the department attempts to mitigate issues before fining—sending warning letters and attempting phone contact—but that some businesses do not return calls. He said the proposed changes would have limited residential impact: only three residential accounts would have exceeded the new three-alarm threshold in 2024, and the highest residential count in 2024 was nine alarms at a single residence.

Safety Committee chair Councilman Nick Rubino closed discussion and moved the ordinance to third reading for further consideration by the full council; no final council vote on the ordinance was taken at this meeting.