Council weighs licensing, cost‑recovery approach for false‑alarm ordinance; attorney to draft code

City Attorney Heather Kinsley presented options and sought council direction on a proposed false‑alarms ordinance at the June 24 Richland City Council workshop; she said she will bring a draft ordinance for first reading based on council input.

Kinsley summarized common approaches used by other Washington cities and outlined policy choices for council: require alarm‑monitoring companies to obtain a city license, require property owners to obtain a permit, adopt an escalating penalty schedule for repeat false alarms, or pursue cost‑recovery fees tied to the city’s response cost. She said she plans to present her professional recommendation for a first reading ordinance and asked for council feedback on points such as who should carry the penalty (monitoring company vs. subscriber), whether to distinguish commercial and…