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(A) Third false alarms.
(1) If within any calendar year, the Police or Fire Departments responds to 3 false alarms (burglar and or fire alarms, respectfully) at the same premises or location, the Chief of Police or Fire Chief, as appropriate, shall send a notice to the alarm user informing him or her of the false alarm(s) and encouraging the prevention of future false alarms.
(2) The written notice will also advise the alarm user that the fifth and subsequent false alarms will result in a $100 civil monetary penalty.
(B) Fifth and subsequent false alarms.
(1) If within any calendar year, the Police or Fire Departments responds to a fifth or subsequent false alarms at the same premises or location, the alarm user shall be subject to a civil penalty of $100 for any like alarm(s).
(2) Provided, after the fourth false alarm only, the civil penalty may be waived by the Chief of Police or Fire Chief or their designee upon written evidence from a person or company licensed by the North Carolina Alarm Systems Licensing Board certifying that the false alarm was caused by electronic or mechanical malfunction of the alarm system and that the alarm system has been repaired.
(C) False alarm with seven days of installation. Any false alarms occurring within 7 days of installation of a new alarm system for which a permit has been issued shall not be considered false alarms for the purposes of the assessment of civil penalties.
(D) Continuing alarms.
(1) An alarm user or his or her representative shall reset an alarm when notified by the Police Department or communications center that the alarm has been activated.
(2) All audible alarms, with the exception of fire alarms which require a manual reset, shall be equipped with an automatic reset device that will reset and cease to sound the alarm after no more than 30 minutes of continuous activation.
(3) When any alarm activates continuously for a period of 60 minutes from the time a town official initially responded to the alarm due to the failure of the alarm user or his or her representative to reset the alarm, it shall be deemed a false alarm and each subsequent 60 minute period or portion thereof that the alarm continues to be activated shall be considered a separate false alarm.
(4) The alarm user shall be subject to a civil penalty for the continuing alarm at a flat rate of $10 for each false alarm as defined herein, not to exceed $100 for any 24-hour period.
(5) The absence of direct notice to the alarm user or his or her representative of the activation shall not constitute a defense to these fees if the Police Department, Fire Department or communications center is not reasonably able to contact the person due to the failure of the alarm user to conform to the provisions of this section.
(E) Fees subject to change. All fees and/or civil penalties referred to in this section shall be subject to change as approved by the Liberty Town Council and listed in the most current updates of the Liberty Fee Schedule.
(Ord. passed 10-24-2005)
(A) The Chief of Police shall have the authority, in his or her sole discretion, to waive any penalty charged to an alarm user when a burglary, intrusion or robbery alarm user submits to the Chief of Police adequate evidence that the alleged false alarm was not actually false as defined in § 132.06 below.
(B) The Fire Chief shall have the authority, in his or her sole discretion, to waive any penalty charged to an alarm user when fire, smoke or heat detection alarm user submits to the Fire Chief adequate evidence that the alleged false alarm was not actually false as defined in § 132.06 below.
(Ord. passed 10-24-2005)
(A) Notwithstanding any contractual agreement between an alarm contractor and an alarm user, the alarm user shall be liable for payment of any civil penalty due the Town of Liberty under section § 132.03 above.
(B) Any town employee authorized by the Chief of Police (or Fire Chief, as appropriate) may issue to the known owner of, or person having control of, any place of business or residence a civil penalty citation giving notice of the violation of this chapter.
(C) Any like employee shall be authorized to secure the name and address of the owner or person in control of the place of business or residence found to be in violation of exceeding the number of alarms allowed.
(D) Citations so issued may be delivered in person or mailed by registered mail to the person charged if he or she cannot readily be found.
(E) Each citation issued shall impose upon the owner or person in charge a civil penalty as prescribed by this chapter which shall be paid to the Town of Liberty, fee collector, within 30 days of receipt in full satisfaction of the assessed civil penalty.
(F) If the civil penalty is not paid within the time prescribed in the citation, the appropriate personnel of the town may initiate a civil action in the nature of debt to collect the civil penalty.
(Ord. passed 10-24-2005)
(A) Each alarm user in the Town of Liberty shall post in a conspicuous place on the premises where the alarm system is maintained and shall furnish to the Police Department (or Fire Department, as appropriate) the name(s) and telephone number(s) of the person(s) currently authorized and able to deactivate the alarm system.
(B) It shall be unlawful for an alarm contractor or alarm user to activate an alarm system without first obtaining a permit from the Town of Liberty and notifying the Chief of Police (or Fire Chief, as appropriate) of the name(s) and telephone numbers) of those person(s) authorized and able to deactivate the alarm systems.
(C) It shall be the responsibility of the alarm user to provide an adequate number of responsible persons to permit notification of an activation at any time and to keep this information current.
(Ord. passed 10-24-2005) Penalty, see § 132.99
(A) It shall be unlawful for any person to willfully cause a false alarm. A violation of this provision shall be a misdemeanor punishable as provided in G.S. § 14-286.
(B) Any person, firm or corporation violating the provisions of this chapter shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and punished as provided by 10.99, and shall be fined not more than $500 or imprisoned for not more than 30 days and shall be further subject to the provisions of G.S. § 160A-175.
(Ord. passed 10-24-2005; Am. Ord. passed 11-22-2021)