Eastpointe council rejects plan to send bill for calling 911 too much

Eastpointe won't be sending out invoices to recover the costs of using emergency personnel for some 911 calls after the City Council rejected a proposal to bill callers.

The council voted down a proposed ordinance Tuesday that would have set criteria for recovering costs for incidents such as setting a false alarm, bomb threats, social media threats, improper use of fireworks, reckless driving resulting in damage and "tampering" with fire hydrants.

It also would have allowed the city to send a bill to those who use emergency services too many times.

Under the proposed ordinance, which failed 2-2 during a council meeting Tuesday, if calls came from the same location more than three times within a quarter of a calendar year, the responsible party would have been fined.

A location was defined as an individual dwelling unit or business, including the business' parking area and structures. If the responsible party was an apartment complex owner, all areas of the complex would have been included.

Call 911 too much? Eastpointe may send you a bill

Mayor Monique Owens, who previously supported the ordinance, was absent. Council member Cardi DeMonaco Jr., who voted no, restated his objections that there are laws preventing crimes listed in the ordinance, and cases should go through the court system rather than be subjected to a bill from the city.

Councilwoman Sarah Lucido, who also voted against the proposal, had raised concerns over an earlier version of the ordinance, which would have included billing for reports of domestic violence, and assault and battery incidents.

"I understand where the Police Department is coming from, but at the same time, I think this ordinance is just a little too much, and the last thing I want is for anyone to ever have ... the fear of getting a bill for calling emergency or non-emergency numbers," Lucido said. "I know sometimes people abuse it, and things like that, but, you, our residents, do play taxes for those services and we should be providing them."

Councilmen Rob Baker and Harvey Curley voted to support the proposal.

Invoices would have come from the city's Finance Department by mail and would have been due within 30 days of the date of delivery. A 12% annual interest rate could have be tacked on to an invoice after 30 days and the city could have filed a civil suit to recover expenses.

The goal of the ordinance was not to use it frequently or collect money, Eastpointe Public Safety Director George Rouhib said, but rather to act as a deterrent against unnecessary calls.

He cited the rise in threats, specifically the increase in threats against schools since the deadly shooting at Oxford High School in late November 2021, when four students were killed and seven others were wounded.

anichols@detroitnews.com