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Each alarm system business shall notify the Police Department and/or the Fire Department, in writing, of any change of the licensed manager of the business within 48 hours after such change and of any change in the telephone number by which personnel can be reached, prior to such change.
(Ord. 15-87, passed 2-9-1987)
(a) Any alarm system business which installs an alarm system within the city shall provide the Police Department or the Fire Department with the following information on a form designated by the city:
(1) The address where such system is installed;
(2) The name and address of the person having control over the property; and
(3) The type of alarm system.
(b) Such form shall be submitted to the Department not earlier than 20 days prior to the installation of such system and not later than 48 hours after such system is installed. The Department shall protect such information as confidential information, and its use shall be restricted to legitimate law enforcement purposes and to enforcement of this chapter.
(Ord. 15-87, passed 2-9-1987)
Whenever an alarm system business agrees with any person to maintain or service an alarm system, such business shall:
(a) Ensure that personnel of such business who are able to render effective assistance arrive at such alarm site within one and one-half hours of a request by a member of the Police Department or the Fire Department for assistance, if such alarm system business has agreed with any person to respond to such alarm system;
(b) Ensure that sufficient personnel of such business are available to provide service and to repair any alarm system such business has agreed to maintain or service within 72 hours after the notification that such system is in need of repair is received from any person in control of the property or by a member of the Department designated by the Police Chief or Fire Chief to give such notice; and
(c) Keep a written record of the date and time of the repair and a description of the specific repair which was performed on an alarm system when such repair was made in response to notification by the person in control of the property or a member of the Department that such alarm system was in need of repair. Such written record shall be maintained for at least two years and shall be made available for inspection and duplication by any member of the Department designated by the Police Chief or Fire Chief to inspect such record when such member of the Department makes demand at the office of the alarm system business during regular business hours.
(Ord. 15-87, passed 2-9-1987)
Any alarm system business which operates a central station and any telephone answering service shall:
(a) Have sufficient personnel trained in the procedures to be followed in receiving and relating notice of the activation of any alarm system on duty at all times to ensure that emergency messages or alarm signals received by such business can be relayed immediately to the Police Department or the Fire Department;
(b) Notify the person in control of the property or his or her designated employee of the activation of the alarm system within 24 hours of the time the alarm was activated, by telephone or by placing such notice in the mail addressed to the person in control of the property;
(c) Keep a written record of the date and time each notification of the activation of an alarm system is received, and the date, time and method by which the person in control of the property or his or her designated employee was notified. Such records shall be retained for at least two years and shall be made available for inspection by any member of the Department designated by the Police Chief or Fire Chief to inspect such records when such member of the Department makes demand at the office of the alarm system business or telephone answering service during regular business hours;
(d) Test or cause to be tested all equipment used by the Department or telephone answering service relating to the receipt of notification of the activation of an alarm system and the equipment used in relaying such notification to the Department at least one time in every 12-month period and, where a test result is unsatisfactory, correct or cause to be corrected, within a reasonable period of time not to exceed seven days, the cause of the unsatisfactory test result;
(e) Produce evidence of the results of tests conducted pursuant to division (d) of this section upon request of a member of the Department designated by the Police Chief or Fire Chief to inspect such evidence. The requirements of this division (e) shall be satisfied if such results are made available at the central station or telephone answering service on the next regular business day after demand is made; and
(f) Not provide answering services for any alarm system business which is not licensed by the state.
(Ord. 15-87, passed 2-9-1987)
No person shall intentionally activate an alarm system for any purpose other than an emergency or threat of emergency of the kind for which the alarm system was designed to give notice. However, it shall be an affirmative defense to a prosecution under this section that the alarm system was sounded solely for the purpose of testing the alarm and the person who tested the alarm took reasonable precautions to avoid any request being made to the Police Department or the Fire Department to respond to such alarm.
(Ord. 15-87, passed 2-9-1987)
The city shall respond to proper notification of the activation of an alarm system without charge, except that:
(a) The person in control of the property on which an alarm system is installed will be charged $100 when he or she or his or her agent or employee intentionally or knowingly activates the alarm system for any reason other than an emergency or threat of an emergency of the kind for which the alarm system was designed to give notice;
(b) The person in control of the property on which a police emergency alarm system is installed will not be charged the first time, but will be charged $25 the second time and each time thereafter, within a 12-month period*, when the alarm system is unintentionally or unknowingly activated for any reason other than an emergency or threat of an emergency of the kind for which the alarm system was designed to give notice; and
(c) The person in control of the property on which a fire emergency alarm system is installed will not be charged the first time, but will be charged $100 the second time and each time thereafter, within a 12-month period*, when the alarm system is unintentionally or unknowingly activated for any reason other than an emergency or threat of an emergency of the kind for which the alarm system was designed to give notice.
(d) *No fine for the first accidental alarm in a 12-month period.
(e) Any response by the city to notification of activation of an alarm system prior to 60 days after the passage of this chapter (Ordinance 15-87, passed February 9, 1987) will not be included in the charges set out in this section.
(Ord. 15-87, passed 2-9-1987)
A permit for an alarm system may be revoked if mechanical malfunction or faulty equipment has caused five or more false alarms by such alarm system in the 12-month period immediately preceding the date of notice of a hearing. However, a permit for an alarm system shall be revoked without a hearing if the permit holder fails to pay the service charge within 30 days of receipt of notice to pay for a false alarm. A protest may be filed and if, at a subsequent hearing as provided in § 1098.22, the Safety Director or his or her designee determines that no service charge is due, the city shall refund the same. “Mechanical malfunction” and “faulty equipment” shall not relate, for purposes of this section, to false alarms caused by human error or an act of God. A permit shall not be revoked if the permit holder shows that since the most recent false alarm from such alarm system, the system has been repaired, and the Police Department or the Fire Department has inspected such alarm system and found it to have been properly repaired.
(Ord. 15-87, passed 2-9-1987)
(a) Prior to the revocation of a permit for an alarm system, written notice shall be given to the permit holder. Such notice shall set forth:
(1) The specific date on which there have been false alarms from such alarm system which were caused by mechanical malfunction or faulty equipment;
(2) That a hearing will be held before the Safety Director or his or her designated representative to determine whether the permit for such alarm system should be revoked;
(3) The date, time and place of such hearing; and
(4) That the permit holder may appear in person and/or be represented by counsel, may present testimony and may cross-examine all witnesses.
(b) All hearings shall be held by the Safety Director or his or her designated representative. The official conducting the hearing shall be referred to as the Hearing Officer. The Safety Director shall not designate any person to perform the duties of Hearing Officer under this section who has participated in the investigation of false alarms from the alarm site in question or has prior knowledge of the allegations or circumstances discovered in such investigation. The person designated as Hearing Officer may, prior to the hearing, receive a copy of the notice given to the permit holder.
(c) A representative of the Law Director shall be present at such hearing to advise the Hearing Officer as to procedural matters; however, such attorney shall not partake in any determination of the facts.
(d) All hearings shall be conducted under rules consistent with the nature of the proceedings, provided, however, that the following rules shall apply to such hearings:
(1) All parties shall have the right to representation by a licensed attorney, though an attorney is not required;
(2) Each party may present witnesses in his or her own behalf;
(3) Each party has the right to cross-examine all witnesses; and
(4) Only evidence presented before the Hearing Officer at such hearing may be considered in rendering the order.
(e) If the permit holder fails to appear at the hearing at the time, place and date specified, the city shall present sufficient evidence to establish a prima facie case showing that mechanical malfunction or faulty equipment has caused five or more false alarms in the 12-month period immediately preceding the date of the notice of hearing.
(f) If the Hearing Officer finds that grounds exist for revocation of the permit for the alarm system, he or she shall revoke such permit and shall give written notice to the permit holder of such revocation. Upon receipt of such notice, the permit holder shall disconnect such alarm system immediately and shall surrender his or her permit to the Safety Director or his or her designee.
(g) If the Hearing Officer does not find that grounds exist for revocation of the permit for an alarm system, he or she shall give written notice of such finding to the permit holder.
(Ord. 15-87, passed 2-9-1987)
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