OPINION — Over a decade ago on council, the former police chief flagged a critical “911” issue: our alarm monitoring system’s hardware had failed. We restored it temporarily, but it was on life support and required urgent replacement.
Updating the hardware would have cost far more than the $50,000 spent last year. I opposed spending public money on a system that, even new, could not match private-sector offerings. Roughly 600 residential addresses used the Paradise Valley Police monitoring service then; the number was already declining and has now fallen to 255.
I am fundamentally against government competing with private enterprise. Most of the council wanted to continue the service, so I sought the best possible solution. I contacted Paradise Valley resident and former Entrepreneurs’ Organization member Jay Jennings, whose family then owned Safeguard Security. Though opposed to government involvement, I asked him to advise council and staff. Jay delivered a cloud-based solution that avoided a large capital outlay and received no financial benefit — he simply donated his expertise.
