TheBakersfieldCalifornian.com

The Bakersfield City Council on Wednesday took the first step toward creating an ordinance that would fine repeat offenders of false burglar alarms, and also decided to keep the city's redevelopment agency operating in exchange for paying a hefty fee, as opposed to abolishing the agency altogether and risking the halt of future projects.

The first reading for the false alarm ordinance passed unanimously with no discussion, and with no public comments. The council will vote on the ordinance at its next meeting, and if approved, it will go into effect after 30 days.

Under the proposed rule, alarm users would pay a fee (cost for police response) and a penalty for having multiple false alarms. On the first false alarm, users would get a written warning, but would be charged no fee for police response costs. On the second false alarm, a $105 fee would be imposed. That fine, however, could be avoided by completing "alarm school." On the third false alarm, a $105 police response fee would be imposed, and also a $105 penalty. By the fifth false alarm, the total charge would reach $420, and it's possible police won't respond to the alarm.

The Bakersfield Police Department hopes that by penalizing users of alarm systems who repeatedly have false alarms -- forcing dispatchers and officers to respond each time -- they will take steps to make sure they go off only when users are at risk, thus saving police time and money.

In 2010, for example, police received 17,725 alarm calls, of which 97 percent were false, police reports show. Of those calls, police responded on site to 10,115, costing the department more than $1 million (each response is estimated to cost $105 in dispatcher, officer and clerk costs).

On any given day, 9 percent of dispatched calls concern alarms.

After the meeting, Police Chief Greg Williamson said the department has looked at how to address false alarm concerns for 20 years, but has done so more aggressively the last two years. Wednesday's vote in favor, he said, was a "big step."

While little was said about the ordinance in council chambers, the topic of redevelopment agencies -- and how the state's recent decision to ax them could impact Bakersfield -- was a focus.

The council unanimously decided to sign a resolution to keep the agency alive, but it requires it to make payments into special funds designated for schools, for example. That payment is estimated at $3.8 million for the 2011-12 fiscal year and nearly $900,000 for 2012-13, while last year it paid $572,000 into the funds. The new amount "will be very painful," according to staff reports.

However, it's better than the other option, City Manager Alan Tandy said -- eliminating the agency. That would mean the death of projects like affordable housing at 20th Street and in the Mill Creek area, improvements in Old Kern and southeast Bakersfield, downtown revitalization, and other future projects.

Tandy reminded councilmembers that the agency was responsible for such successful projects as the Amtrak station, Maya Cinemas and several senior housing projects.

Councilmembers were not happy about the choice. Councilman Russell Johnson said "it's a shame that California continues to dip their hands into our own pockets."

Councilman Harold Hanson said he was "fed up" with the state, and called having to pay $3.8 million to keep the agency above ground "extortion." The agency has done such a good job, he said.

Donna Kunz, economic development director, asked the council to approve the resolution, saying "our city has a lot of things left to do."

Legal action is expected to be taken against the state by California cities, but whether a case will be heard, or when a potential case will be resolved, is unknown at this time, Tandy said. The council discussed that very subject in closed session Wednesday.

In other business, the City Council approved an agreement with Padre Hotel to build a staging area at the southwest corner of 19th and H streets that will be used for valet parking and community events, like First Friday. The $107,000-project is expected to add four full-time jobs at the hotel. An alley and sidewalk improvement project in the same area, costing $431,000, is also being planned.