Illustration: AI-generated
By Jupiter Tide Staff
Correction, Nov. 5, 2026: An earlier version of this story said the final vote on Ordinance 15-26 was set for the Town Council's Nov. 5 meeting. The ordinance is not on the posted agenda for that meeting, and the town has not announced a new date. We will update this story when it does. The Nov. 5 public hearing is on Ordinance 42-26, which rewrites the town's parking rules. Full rundown: Jupiter council night, Nov. 5.
JUPITER — Homes and businesses whose fire alarms keep going off by mistake could soon pay $100 to $1,000 per call under an ordinance the Jupiter Town Council approved on first reading Oct. 20.
Ordinance 15-26 passed 5-0 as part of the consent agenda, according to the town clerk's meeting synopsis. A second reading, the final vote, is still required. It is not on the council's posted Nov. 5 agenda, and the town has not announced a new date.
Why now
The ordinance comes weeks after Jupiter Fire Rescue went live Oct. 1 as the town's own fire department, replacing Palm Beach County Fire Rescue. Fire Chief Darrel Donatto told the council Oct. 6 that the department handled 132 calls in its first five days, according to the meeting minutes.
The staff memo from Police Chief Donald Hennessy and Fire Chief Darrel Donatto says the town has historically responded to "nearly 700" preventable false alarms a year. Cutting those calls would keep fire rescue units free for life-threatening emergencies and allow faster response times, the memo says. It says the fees "shift the financial burden to the responsible party."
The town's alarm rules date to 1993 and refer to automatic dialing devices and telephone lines, which no longer match how alarms are monitored, according to the memo. The ordinance would add rules for false fire alarms to that chapter of the Town Code.
Proposed fire alarm fees (rolling 12 months)
1st and 2nd: courtesy notice, no charge
3rd: $100
4th and 5th: $150 each
6th through 10th: $300 each
11th and up: $1,000 each
After a sixth false alarm, the town could require the alarm user to document repairs or other corrective action within 30 days. At 10 or more, the monitoring company would have to make extra attempts to confirm the alarm before calling fire dispatch.
Burglar and panic alarms
Police false alarms follow a separate scale: no charge for the first three, $50 each for the fourth through sixth, $100 each for the seventh through ninth and $200 each after that. Ten or more in 12 months could be declared a public nuisance and sent to the town's Code Compliance Special Magistrate.
An alarm canceled by the monitoring company before police or firefighters arrive would not count. Fees would be due within 30 calendar days of notice. Owners could appeal in writing within that time and submit repair records, monitoring logs, video or weather records.
How to weigh in
Residents can speak when the ordinance returns for its second reading; check the town's agendas at jupiterfl.portal.civicclerk.com. Meetings stream at jupiter.fl.us/Live. The memo lists Maj. Joseph Counihan of the Jupiter Police Department ([email protected], 561-741-2593) as the contact for questions.
Sources
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