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A. The Alarm Administrator shall:
1. Designate the manner and form of alarm dispatch requests and the telephone numbers and/or communication process that are to be used for such requests; and
2. Establish a procedure to accept cancellation of alarm dispatch requests.
B. The Alarm Administrator shall establish a procedure to acquire and record information on alarm dispatch requests.
C. The Alarm Administrator shall establish and implement a procedure to notify the alarm user of a false alarm. The notice shall include the following:
1. The date and time of an officer’s response to the false alarm; and
2. Any false alarm fine incurred.
D. The Alarm Administrator may require that a conference be held with an alarm user and the alarm installation company or monitoring company responsible for repairing or monitoring of the alarm system to review the circumstances of each false alarm. The conference may be held in person or through a conference telephone call, at the Alarm Administrator’s discretion. Failure to participate may result in suspension of the alarm registration, as indicated by the facts of the case.
E. The Alarm Administrator may establish an alarm user awareness class. The Alarm Administrator may request the assistance of associations, alarm companies and law enforcement agencies in developing and implementing the class. The class shall inform alarm users of the alarm ordinance; problems created by false alarms and teach alarm users how to avoid creating false alarms.
F. If a false robbery, holdup or panic alarm has occurred and the alarm was triggered using a single action, non-recessed device, the Alarm Administrator may consider a waiver or partial waiver of the false alarm fine, if action is taken by the alarm user to remove or replace the single action, non-recessed device.
G. The Alarm Administrator shall make a copy of this chapter and/or an ordinance summary sheet available to each alarm user.
H. The Alarm Administrator may use electronic means to communicate with alarm users, alarm installation companies and monitoring companies when applicable or when requested by the recipient and at the Alarm Administrator’s discretion.
(Ord. 1479, passed 5-16-2018)
A. The Alarm Administrator may assess the alarm user a fine for a false alarm occurring at that alarm user’s alarm site. The amount of said fines for the listed categories shall be established by City Council and may be subsequently amended by resolution of the City Council.
B. If a false alarm fine is not paid within 30 days after the invoice is mailed, a late charge as established by resolution of the City Council shall be imposed.
C. Fines for False Alarms from Non-Registered Alarm Systems. For person(s) operating a non-registered alarm system incurring a false alarm, fines shall be imposed as established by resolution of the City Council.
D. Any monitoring company after 5 business days of receiving notice from the Alarm Administrator that an alarm user’s registration status is that of non-registered shall not make a burglar alarm dispatch request from that alarm user.
E. If cancellation of a police response occurs prior to the officer’s arrival at the alarm site, the response is not considered a false alarm and no false alarm fine will be assessed.
F. The alarm installation company shall be assessed a fine in an amount established by resolution of the City Council if the officer responding to a false alarm determines that an on-site employee of the alarm installation company directly caused the false alarm. Such false alarms are not included in the total number of false alarms for the alarm user, nor is the alarm user to be held liable for any false alarm fine resulting from such alarm activation.
G. A fine in an amount established by resolution of the City Council shall be imposed against any monitoring company that fails to verify alarm system signals as required in § 8.20.090C.2. of this chapter.
H. Notice of the right of appeal under this chapter will be included with notice of any fine.
I. All registration fees, renewal registration fees or fines assessed under this section are due within 30 days of written notice unless otherwise noted. A late charge in an amount established by resolution of the City Council shall be imposed for each individual fee or fine due that is not paid within 30 days.
J. The Alarm Administrator may waive the false alarm fine for the first chargeable false alarm during the alarm user’s 1-year registration period, pending the successful completion of the online alarm user awareness class available through the Alarm Administrator. In order to have the fine waived, the alarm user shall have successfully completed the class within 30 days of the fine notice. Alarm users without online access may request the online school and test be mailed to them. Reasonable additional time to complete the alarm user awareness class shall be allowed for mail delivery.
(Ord. 1479, passed 5-16-2018)
A. The Alarm Administrator shall notify the alarm user in writing or by other electronic means after each false alarm. The notice shall include the amount of the fine for the false alarm, the fact that police response to further alarms may be suspended after the fourth false alarm during the alarm user’s 1-year alarm registration period, (excluding duress, robbery, holdup and panic alarms), and that the alarm user has the right to appeal.
B. The Alarm Administrator shall notify the alarm user in writing 30 days beforehand that a Police Department response to further alarms is to be suspended. The right of appeal under this chapter shall be included with the notice. The notice of suspension shall also include the amount of any fees and/or fines due and a description of the reinstatement process.
(Ord. 1479, passed 5-16-2018)
A. The Alarm Administrator shall notify the Police Department of each alarm user whose alarm registration qualifies for suspension under this section. The Alarm Administrator may suspend an alarm registration if it is determined that:
1. There is a false statement of a material fact in the registration application;
2. The alarm user has had 4 or more false burglar alarms within the 1-year registration period, except that the Alarm Administrator may waive a suspension of a registration upon receipt of documented work orders showing reasonable attempts to repair the alarm system prior to the notice of suspension; or
3. The alarm user fails or refuses to pay an alarm registration or alarm registration renewal fee, false alarm fine, late charge, or any other fee, fine, or charge assessed under this section.
B. It is a violation of this section for a person to operate a burglar alarm system during the period in which the alarm registration is suspended. It is a violation of this chapter for a monitoring company to make an alarm dispatch request to a burglar alarm site after the monitoring company’s alarm response manager (ARM) has been notified by electronic mail by the Alarm Administrator that the registration for that alarm site has been suspended. A grace period of 5 business days after the ARM’s notification shall be granted the monitoring company to comply. The alarm monitoring company shall be assessed a fine in an amount established by resolution of the City Council for requesting a burglar alarm dispatch request on a suspended alarm site.
C. False Alarm Fines under Suspension Status. In addition to the fines set forth in § 8.20.110
A., a supplemental fine is hereby imposed upon any person operating a suspended burglar alarm system. The amount of said fines shall be established by resolution of the City Council.
D. It shall be the responsibility of the alarm user to notify their respective alarm monitoring company of their suspension status. An alarm user shall be held financially accountable for all false alarm fines incurred.
E. Unless there is a separate indication that there is a crime in progress, the Police Department may or may not dispatch an officer to an alarm site for which an alarm registration is suspended.
(Ord. 1479, passed 5-16-2018)
A. If the Alarm Administrator assesses a fee or fine, suspends an alarm registration or denies the issuance, renewal or reinstatement of an alarm registration, the Alarm Administrator shall send notice of the action and a statement of the right to appeal to the affected applicant, alarm user, alarm installation company or alarm monitoring company.
B. The applicant, alarm user, alarm installation company or alarm monitoring company may appeal any action described in division A. above to the Police Chief (or his or her designee) by setting forth in writing the reasons for the appeal and delivering the appeal to the Police Chief (or designee) within 20 days after receipt of notice of the action. Failure to deliver the appeal within that time period is a waiver of the right to appeal.
C. The procedure for an appeal to the Police Chief (or designee) is as follows:
1. The applicant, alarm user, alarm installation company or monitoring company may file a written request for appeal by paying an appeal fee and setting forth the reasons for the appeal. The appeal must be entitled “Appeal from Alarm Administrator’s Action.” The appeal fee shall be in an amount established by resolution of the City Council and will be returned to the appealing party if the appeal is successful.
2. The Police Chief (or designee) shall conduct a hearing on the appeal within 30 days after the Police Department’s receipt of the request for appeal and appeal fee and shall consider the evidence submitted by the appealing party and the Alarm Administrator. The Police Chief (or designee) must base the decision on the preponderance of evidence presented at the hearing and must render a decision within 15 days after the date of the hearing. The decision shall affirm or reverse the decision or action taken by the Alarm Administrator. The decision of the Police Chief or designee shall be the final decision in the matter.
3. Filing of an appeal stays any action by the Alarm Administrator to suspend an alarm registration or require the payment of a fee or fine until the appeal process has been exhausted. This provision applies only to the action of the Alarm Administrator that is the subject of the appeal. This provision does not operate as a bar to enforcement action on violations of this section that occur thereafter.
D. The Alarm Administrator or the Police Chief, or their respective designees, may adjust the count of false alarms or assessed fees based on:
1. Evidence that a false alarm was caused by action of a communications services provider (i.e., telephone, cellular, cable company);
2. Evidence that a false alarm was caused by a power outage of more than 4 hours or severe weather such as a tornado, earthquake, or excessive winds (35 m.p.h. or above as measured by a local, recognized weather monitoring station);
3. Evidence that an alarm dispatch request was not a false alarm; or
4. The occurrence of multiple alarms within a 24-hour period, which may be considered as 1 false alarm if the alarm user has taken corrective action, unless the false alarms are directly caused by the alarm user.
E. The Alarm Administrator may waive all or part of a false alarm fine due to extenuating circumstances or to encourage corrective action with supervisor approval.
(Ord. 1479, passed 5-16-2018)
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