(a) False alarms are hereby declared to be a nuisance and charges shall be made as follows unless waived, for good cause, in writing, by the Police Chief and/or Fire Chief, or the designee of the Mayor.
(1) Residential users. No charge shall be made for the first two false alarms annually or for a false alarm to which there is no response by the Police or Fire Department, or in the event of an alarm malfunction. A charge of twenty-five dollars ($25.00) shall be made for the third false alarm annually, and a charge of fifty dollars ($50.00) shall be made for each additional false alarm thereafter annually.
(2) Business users. No charge shall be made for the first two false alarms annually, or for a false alarm to which there is no response by the Police or Fire Department, or in the event of an alarm malfunction. A charge of fifty dollars ($50.00) shall be made for the third false alarm annually, and a charge of one hundred dollars ($100.00) shall be made for each additional false alarm thereafter annually.
(b) Residential and business false alarm charges shall apply only when there is a response by the Police or Fire Department. Any charge for a false alarm remaining unpaid thirty days after the date of the mailing of the invoice shall be assessed on the property where the alarm is located. The charge that is set forth above is the cost of abating the nuisance of the false alarm and this cost shall be assessed on the property where the alarm is located.
(c) If there is a response by the Police or Fire Department to a false alarm resulting from improper equipment, installation and/or servicing by the alarm business and/or agency, the Chief of Police, or his designee, may authorize a civil penalty against the alarm business of one hundred dollars ($100.00) per false alarm in addition to the amounts in subsection (a) hereof and if the charge is not paid within 30 days after the date of mailing of the invoice, then this charge shall also be assessed against the property as a means of abating this nuisance.
(Ord. 2013-084. Passed 8-20-13.)