Lubbock council repeals alarm permit ordinance after public outcry and internal critique

The Lubbock City Council voted Oct. 28 to repeal an ordinance that would have required annual permits and fees for third‑party monitored burglar and robbery alarm systems, following a staff briefing, public testimony opposing the measure and sustained council criticism of the ordinance’s briefing and rollout.

Assistant Police Chief Veil Baron told the council the ordinance was designed to reduce the time officers spend responding to false alarms and to help the department identify and contact alarm owners more quickly. Baron said alarm calls accounted for a substantial share of calls for service and that officers logged roughly 5,027 hours responding to false alarms in 2024. He said that, during the two weeks the new ordinance was briefly in effect (Oct. 1–16), dispatch received 332 false alarm calls from 51 locations, 73 of which generated billable notices under the ordinance’s thresholds.

The ordinance would have applied only to third‑party monitored alarm systems and, as Baron described it in the briefing, included graduated fees consistent with the Texas Local Government Code: an annual permit (up to $50 for residences and higher for other locations), with escalating fees for repeated false alarms and fines up to $500 for violations. Baron also said the ordinance included an opt‑out clause…