(a) Authority to Install Alarms. A business or residence located within the City may be equipped with an alarm system for the purpose of detecting and signaling an unauthorized intrusion, the presence of smoke or fire, or a medical emergency, only upon compliance with the provisions hereinafter set forth. Pre-existing alarms or installations are subject to the requirements set forth herein.
(b) Permit Required. A permit shall be required for any alarm system installed under subsection (a) hereof and defined in subsection (c) hereof. The permit shall be issued by the Safety Director after approval by the Chief of Police or the Fire Chief and after payment of all applicable fees. The owner/resident of the business/residence wherein the alarm is installed shall be responsible for obtaining the alarm permit.
(c) Alarm Types. The following alarm types are subject to subsections (a) and (b) hereof and are defined as follows:
(1) Police and fire alarms are those alarms which are connected directly to the police and fire alarm panels through leased lines from the premises protected.
(2) Central station alarms are those alarms which are connected to a private alarm company by various means from protected premises.
(3) Local alarms are those alarms which sound a bell, horn, buzzer or other type of audible signal, as the principal means of summoning assistance. Whenever an audible device is used in residential areas or adjacent areas, an automatic shut-off not to exceed five minutes, shall be utilized on the audible portion of the alarm.
(4) Dialer alarms are those alarms which use an automatic telephone dialer to summon assistance in case of burglary, fire or medical emergency. When installed under subsection (a) and (b) hereof they may be programmed for the special dialer line.
(d) False Alarms.
(1) Definition: A false alarm occurs when the alarm system is actuated, the Police or Fire Divisions are dispatched and discover no obvious cause for the alarm, or the alarm subscriber has accidentally or erroneously activated the system.
(2) A charge of twenty-five dollars ($25.00) shall be assessed for each false alarm that is reported by the Police or Fire Division.
(3) No charge shall be made for the first false alarm in any month.
(4) Any charge for a false alarm, as defined in subsection (d)(1) hereof which remains unpaid for thirty days after the date of invoice shall result in penalties as prescribed under Section 129.99.
(e) Equipment Regulations.
(1) All alarm equipment installed in the City shall meet the applicable standards of the Underwriters' Laboratories, the National Fire Protection Association or other recognized industry standards.
(2) The sensory mechanism used in connection with such devices shall be adjusted to suppress false indications of fire or intrusion, so that the device will not be actuated by impulses due to transient pressure change in water pipes, short flashes of light, wind noises adjacent to the installation or other forces unrelated to genuine alarms.
(3) All components comprising such device shall be maintained by the owner or lessee in good repair to assure reliability of operation.
(4) Each alarm equipment supplier that sells, installs or leases an automatic protection device shall furnish instructions as to the way the device operates, along with maintenance instructions, to the subscriber.
(5) Each alarm equipment supplier that sells, or leases to a person an automatic protection device which is installed on such person's premises in the City for which a permit is required shall provide for receiving calls for service, directly or through an agent, on a twenty-four hour basis, seven days a week and shall respond to such calls within eight hours of the time they are received.
(6) At the time of installation, each alarm equipment supplier shall furnish to the person for whom an automatic protection device has been installed, written information as to how service can be obtained at any time, including the telephone number to call for service.
(7) The Chief of Police and the Fire Chief or any other officer designated by them shall have the authority, at reasonable times and upon oral notice, to enter upon any premises within the City, to inspect the installation and operation of an automatic protection device or signaling device, the purpose of which is to report an emergency to the police and/or fire station.
(f) Permit Fees; Installation Fees; Alarm Monitoring Fees.
(1) Permit fees. The permit fee for all alarm types as defined in subsection (c) hereof shall be twenty-five dollars ($25.00).
(2) Installation and alarm monitoring fees.
A. The installation and monitoring fee for police and fire alarms as defined in subsection (c)(1) hereof is two hundred forty dollars ($240.00), initially, and an annual fee thereafter of one hundred twenty dollars ($120.00) for alarm monitoring. The initial installation fee is applied as follows:
$50.00, cost of alarm module; $45.00, cost of technical connections; $25.00, cost of new alarm monitoring equipment; $120.00, annual alarm monitoring fee. If the initial installation requires more than a one-hour time period, an additional charge of twenty-five dollars ($25.00) per hour will apply.
A separate fee of thirty-five dollars ($35.00) for the first hour, and twenty-five dollars ($25.00) per hour thereafter shall be charged for technical service/repair calls after initial installation.
The monitoring fee shall extend from January 1 to December 31. If a permit is issued within the calendar year, the monitor fee shall be prorated in accordance with the number of months left in the year at the rate of ten dollars ($10.00) per month.
If the annual monitoring fee is not remitted to the Division of Police prior to December 31 of each year, the service shall be discontinued.
B. The installation and monitoring fee for dialer alarms as defined in subsection (c) hereof shall be as follows: the installation fee shall be one hundred fifty dollars ($150.00) and an annual monitoring fee of one hundred twenty dollars ($120.00).
The monitoring fee shall extend from January 1 to December 31. If a permit is issued within the calendar year, the monitor fee shall be prorated in accordance with the number of months left in year at the rate of ten dollars ($10.00) per month. If the annual monitoring fee is not remitted to the Division of Police prior to December 31 of each year, the service shall be discontinued.
(3) False alarm fees. See subsection (d)(2).
(g) Revocation of Permit; Right of Appeal. For violation of this section for failure to properly maintain an installation or when the number of false alarms for any installation equals fifteen in any twelve-month period, the Chief of Police and/or Fire Chief shall serve written notice upon a permit holder of the intent to revoke the permit. Such notice shall be given not less than seven days prior to revocation. Such notice shall state the right of the permit holder to appeal to the Safety Director. If an appeal is filed in writing the Safety Director shall hold a hearing on the matter and shall render a decision on the basis of the facts presented. The Safety Director's decisions shall be final. In the event no appeal is filed, the Chief of Police and/or the Fire Chief shall transmit all pertinent information to the Safety Director who shall cancel the permit. The Chief of Police and/or Fire Chief shall take whatever steps are necessary to disconnect the alarms.
(h) Liability of City. The issuance of any permit in conjunction with this section shall not constitute acceptance by the City of any liability to maintain any equipment, to answer any alarms or for any claim in connection therewith. On the face of the permit, there shall be a waiver of any claim against the City.
(i) Rules and Regulations. The Safety Director or his authorized representative shall make and enforce such rules and regulations as he may deem necessary for the enforcement of the provisions hereof, and for the proper determination and collection of the fees and charges herein provided.
(j) Required Alarms.
(1) The following terms have the meanings as set forth herein:
A. "Local alarm system" means that system producing signals at one or more places on the premises served.
B. "Central station system" means a system or group of systems, the operation of which is signaled to, recorded in, maintained and supervised from an approved central station, in which there are competent and experienced observers and operators in attendance at all times whose duty it shall be, upon receipt of a signal, to take such action as shall be required under the rules established for their guidance. Such systems are independently owned, controlled and operated by a person, firm or corporation whose principal business is the furnishing and maintaining of supervised protective signaling service and who has no interest in the protected properties.
(2) The following are required to connect to local and central station fire alarm systems:
A. All multi-family dwellings in excess of four stories.
B. All establishments, both public and private, to which a fee is paid for providing rest or nursing care for the elderly.
C. All schools, and public assembly buildings exceeding 5,000 square feet.
D. All manufacturing, commercial and mercantile buildings in excess of 12,000 square feet total of all floors.
E. All other buildings, dwellings or structures so determined in the future by Council.
F. It shall be the responsibility of the owner of each new building described in this section to comply, effective immediately.
G. It shall be the responsibility of the owner of all existing buildings described in this section to comply, effective six months from the passage of this section, and/or at the time of any change of ownership and/or occupancy, whichever occurs first, effective immediately.
(k) Alarm Monitoring Service Fund. There is hereby established a special fund under the authority of Ohio R.C. 5705.09(F), which shall be known as the Alarm Monitoring Service Fund and which shall be under the supervision and accountability of the Director of Finance. All fees accruing to the City from the Alarm Monitoring Service shall be deposited in the Alarm Monitoring Service Fund. Appropriations from the Fund shall be for the following purposes only:
(1) For the purchase, repair or replacement of communications equipment;
(2) For the purchase and/or replacement of uniforms of the police and fire dispatching personnel.
(3) For the purchase and/or replacement of new alarm monitoring equipment.
(Ord. 1999-011. Passed 1-12-99.)