Elk Grove Village pulls alarm ordinance

The Elk Grove Village board Tuesday night decided to pull an ordinance urging all new businesses, and multifamily condominium/apartment complexes built in town, to install wireless fire alarm systems to connect directly with the village's emergency communications provider — Northwest Central Dispatch.

The move came after business community members and security industry experts voiced concerns about the original language of the ordinance, which would have made the rule a requirement on new businesses.

Existing businesses and multifamily complexes would have been grandfathered in but have the option of upgrading to a wireless alarm system with the $125 activation fee waived by the vendor for the first 18 months after the village adopted the new rule.

The wireless service is being offered by the security company ADT, in conjunction with Northwest Central Dispatch. The cost of going wireless for an individual business would be $81 per month, which includes the equipment, installation, maintenance and repairs.

Security industry representatives who spoke Tuesday said they were concerned about the village showing preference to ADT Security Services, which is the village's choice provider.

“This is exclusively the domain of the private sector,” said Kevin Lehan, executive director of the Illinois Electronic Security Association, which represents 600 state-licensed alarm contractors and 200 licensed alarm agencies. “The private alarm industry, we have to work with the first responders to come up with the best solution for every community. I'd encourage you still not to pass this mandate. We can provide the highest level of service based on whatever parameters you like.”

Lehan said business owners could get a far lower price than the $81 package offered by ADT by going with alternative vendors.

“That is double to triple the cost of what the private sector would charge using the exact same technology that has been used in the adjacent communities for 15-some odd years,” he said. “If the ordinance passes, the business community could suffer the most. Under this ordinance, there's going to be undue pressure. When there is only one game in town and one preferred vendor, it puts less market pressure to keep the prices down.”

Village officials changed the ordinance language Tuesday night to clarify that switching to a wireless alarm system would not be made mandatory and was only encouraged.

“My understanding was that this was going to be voluntary,” Mayor Craig Johnson said, adding that it was miscommunication between the staff and the board that led to the confusion.

Yet some security company representatives urged the village board to delay any decision on an ordinance.

“When you have the word encourage in your ordinance, it is frightening to me still,” said John Reidy, president of SMG Security Systems Inc. of Elk Grove Village. “It is somewhat intimidating to construction or property managers when they are trying to get their occupancies.”

Johnson said he agreed with business owners that government should not dictate what they should do or mandate which vendor they should choose, saying “the free market should still prevail.”

“We're not trying to drive business out,” Johnson said. “We realize the business park is our golden goose. We want to make sure it stays strong. The board, for a period of time, has been looking at ways to improve safety within the business park.”

Johnson said many neighboring communities have switched to wireless fire alarm systems because of the fallibility of telephone landline-based systems.

Palatine, Hoffman Estates, Buffalo Grove and Streamwood already have gone wireless, while Mount Prospect, Schaumburg and Arlington Heights are considering converting, officials said.

Some of those communities have made it mandatory, officials said.

“It's a technology that's been used for over 10 years,” Johnson said. “The new wireless system provides a number of benefits that the old system on landlines does not. It's a reducer of false alarms. In our community, we have between 700 and 800 false alarms a year. Almost half are due to faulty alarm systems.”

Officials have said the existing telephone landline-based system used throughout the community is outdated and can send false signals or short out. Firefighters often must respond when they can't get in touch with someone on-site to verify whether there is an actual fire.

The village board Tuesday night authorized switching the village's old fire alarm system to wireless through ADT.

The upgrade, which will include installing wireless receivers at village facilities, won't cost the village anything upfront and will save $9,000 yearly, Village Manager Ray Rummel said.