Proposed alarm ordinance stirs up privacy concerns
The alarm ordnance contains threats to personal privacy, according to alarm firm owners.
Reporter: Marcelino Benito
TUCSON (KGUN9-TV) - The controversial alarm fee ordinance is back on the table in Tucson. And today, the Arizona Alarm Association was in town to endorse the plan. But the owners of three local alarm companies crashed the party today in opposition.
Today's news conference held by Maria Malice with the Arizona Alarm Association was supposed to rally support for the ordinance. But the other side showed up.
"We showed up out of the blue and i'm sure Maria is disgusted we are here," said Eric Altman, owner of Advanced Protechtion.
Tucson Police Department's proposal calls for households with alarms to pay a $20 dollar annual permit free. The goal is to raise up to 1 million dollars a year to recover TPD cost's The public response to that is frustration.
9OYS asked, why so much pushback? "Tucson is given a lot of free services and whenever you start a permit fee or something like it there's always pushback," said Maria Malice, president of the Arizona Alarm Association.
But what's really unnerving to local alarm owners like Eric Altman is the private information they say TPD expects them to hand over.
"I don't want to be handing my private records that my customers. I'm not gonna just hand them over to somebody," said Altman.
9OYS asked TPD if there's a privacy issue here. "There's no issue. If some would just read the ordinance, all we're asking for is your name and number," said Sgt. Tim Beam said.
We took a closer look at the ordinance. And it reads, TPD wants reasonable information like names of users and any mailing and telephonic information. But a couple of pages before that, it reads, "any and all records of the alarm business...written or recorded will be handed over" should the police department ask for it.
"We're not asking for passcodes or keys to your home. The privacy issue is just not what some would make it out to be," Beam said.
9OYS asked Altman if he thinks the police department is being misleading. "It's in the ordinance. Then take it off the ordinance," Altman said.
The fate of this ordinance is now in the hands of Tucson's city council. They will take up the issue before the end of the month.
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