THE COLONY, Texas — After a thorough evaluation, the City of The Colony has awarded an alarm management contract to PM AM Corp., a national false alarm reduction and billing management service provider. Previously, The Colony’s alarm program was operated internally by the Police Department and its staff.

With ever-growing demand for police personnel to perform additional tasks (such as responding to open records requests associated with body cameras and dash-cam videos), an internal evaluation resulted in city officials looking for alternatives that would free up administrative personnel and provide a better approach to customer service, as well as lead to a greater reduction of false alarms.

Chief David Coulon said there are approximately 1,500 permits currently registered with the program but he suspects this is substantially less than the true number of alarm systems within the city’s jurisdiction. Coulon said his department spends approximately 20 hours per week administering the alarm program, which results in the City recovering approximately $40,000 annually in the costs directly associated with false alarm calls for service.

By shifting the administrative responsibility to PM AM Corp., Chief Coulon is confident the city can realize a greater reduction in the number of false alarms calls, increase cost recovery monies, identify the real number of alarm systems within the city, and regain the 20 administrative hours currently being spent managing the program.

The city appreciates that PM AM’s False Alarm Management Solution (FAMS) is 100-percent Web/Cloud-based, and all options of the software are available without disrupting the city’s existing IT footprint by eliminating the need for introducing any foreign software or hardware devices into its current configuration.

With the help of PM AM Corp., The Colony’s False Alarm Reduction Program will be publishing educational awareness material on www.famspermit.com/TheColony to inform its residents about preventive ways to reduce false alarms.

Little should change for residents. All fees for permits and excessive false alarms remain the same and are set by the City Council. Invoices, correspondence and general questions regarding false alarms can be addressed with PM AM toll free at 888-250-5640 or online at www.famspermit.com/TheColony.

About PM AM:
PM AM Corp. is accredited with several top industry recognitions: Microsoft Gold Certified Partner status; “Sequel 2008, Windows Server 2008 Front Runner Status;” Microsoft ISV; and SEI CMMi Level 3 from the Carnegie Mellon Software Engineering Institute.

Learn more by visiting:
www.pmam-copsource.com and www.pmamhcm.com