§ 127.04 MONITORING PROCEDURES.

   (A)   An alarm business performing monitoring services shall:

      (1)   Make at least two attempts to verify each alarm signal, utilizing ECV (Enhanced Call Verification) before requesting a police response; provided, however, that the verification shall not be attempted in any case involving:

         (a)   Hold-up alarm signals; or

         (b)   Panic alarms; or

         (c)   Alarms where the alarm user has an active court-issued order of protection;

            1.   To qualify for the exception in this subsection, the alarm user shall provide both their alarm business and the Alarm Administrator with notice of the active order of protection and, if requested, a copy of the order.

            2.   Once the active order has been legally terminated or has expired, the alarm user shall have the duty to notify their alarm business and the alarm administrator that the protective order has been legally terminated or has expired. A copy of any order legally terminating the order of protection shall be provided upon request.

      (2)   Communicate alarm dispatch requests to Metro Government in a manner and form determined by the Alarm Administrator, including the registration number of the alarm user. The alarm business shall also communicate to Metro Government, that an alarm user has an active EPO, DVO or other court-issued domestic violence order, when making a dispatch request.

      (3)   Communicate verified cancellations of alarm dispatch requests to Metro Government in a manner and form determined by the Alarm Administrator.

      (4)   Provide such information as is required by the Alarm Administrator, including a list of clients and their registration numbers.

   (B)   The Alarm Administrator shall develop a procedure to accept verified cancellation of alarm dispatch requests, and shall provide that information to the alarm business.

(Lou. Metro Ord. No. 156-2021, approved 11-11-2021)

§ 127.05 ALARM DISPATCH REQUEST INFORMATION.

   (A)   The police officer who responds to an alarm dispatch request shall record such information as required by the Alarm Administrator, including, but not limited to the following:

      (1)   Identification of the alarm site;

      (2)   Time officer was dispatched and time of arrival at alarm site;

      (3)   Date and time of alarm;

      (4)   Weather conditions;

      (5)   Areas and/or sub-area of premises involved; and

      (6)   Name of alarm user's representative on premises, if any.

   (B)   The police officer who responds shall indicate on the dispatch record whether the dispatch was caused by a criminal offense, an attempted criminal offense, or was a false alarm dispatch.

   (C)   In the case of a false alarm dispatch, the police officer who responds shall leave notice at the alarm site that the Police Department responded to a false alarm dispatch. The notice shall include the following information:

      (1)   The date and time of police response to the false alarm dispatch;

      (2)   The identification number of the police officer(s) who responded; and,

      (3)   A statement urging the alarm user to ensure that the alarm system is properly operated, inspected, and serviced in order to avoid service fees.

   (D)   Alarm businesses that perform monitoring services shall maintain, for a period of at least one year following a request for police dispatch to an alarm site, records relating to the dispatch. These records must include:

      (1)   The name, address, phone number and alarm user's registration number;

      (2)   The alarm system zone(s) activated;

      (3)   The time of request for police dispatch; and

      (4)   Evidence that attempts to verify the alarm required by § 127.04(A)(1) were made to the alarm site prior to the request for police dispatch.

   At the Alarm Administrator's request, the alarm business shall provide to the Alarm Administrator the records referenced in subsection (D) for any individual alarm user.

(Lou. Metro Ord. No. 156-2021, approved 11-11-2021)

§ 127.06 SYSTEM PERFORMANCE REVIEWS.

   If there is reason to believe that an alarm system is not being used or maintained in a manner that ensures proper operation and suppresses false alarms, the Alarm Administrator shall advise the Division Resource Officer of the issue, and the Division Resource Officer shall address the issue in person with the business or residence.

(Lou. Metro Ord. No. 156-2021, approved 11-11-2021)

§ 127.07 ALARM BUSINESSES.

   (A)   It shall be unlawful for any person to engage in the alarm business without a valid license issued by the Alarm Administrator.

   (B)   Prior to engaging in the activities of or advertising or holding itself out as an alarm business, an alarm business shall obtain a license from the Alarm Administrator as provided in this chapter. The license number shall appear in all advertising and on all vehicles displaying the name of the alarm business.

   (C)   The license required by this section shall be in addition to any other licenses or permits required by Metro Government or the Commonwealth of Kentucky.

   (D)   In addition to such other information as the Alarm Administrator may require, every application for an alarm business shall contain the following information given under oath:

      (1)   The name, address and residence of each applicant;

         (a)   If there are more than one and they are partners, the partnership name and address; the name and address of each person interested or to become interested in the company for which the registration is sought, together with the nature of that interest;

         (b)   If the applicant is a corporation or LLC, the names, addresses of each officer, director and managerial employee, and the state under the laws of which the corporate applicant is incorporated; the premise or premises that the alarm business will be operating from, stating the street and number, if the premise has a street number, and otherwise such a description as reasonably indicates the location of the premise or premises.

      (2)   A statement that neither the applicant nor any of their employees has been convicted of any crime which directly relates to the performance of an alarm business including crimes of violence, sexual offenses, dishonesty or fraud.

      (3)   A statement that the applicant is in compliance with the requirements of KRS Chapter 341 and 342 regarding unemployment insurance and workers' compensation.

      (4)   If the alarm business is in the business of servicing, repairing, altering, replacing, moving or installing alarm systems, a sworn statement that:

         (a)   It has at least one alarm technician under contract as a full or part time employee; and

         (b)   For each alarm technician being used by the alarm business, that the alarm technician satisfies either subsections 1. through 4. of § 127.07(D)(4)(b) or satisfies subsection of section § 127.07(D)(4)(b)5. as set forth below:

            1.   Is at least 18 years of age; and

            2.   Has provided the alarm business with their social security number or a set of classifiable fingerprints; and

            3.   Has not been convicted of any crime which directly relates to the performance of holding a license, including crimes of violence, sexual offenses, dishonesty and fraud; and

            4.   Has met minimum levels of training, e.g. National Burglar and Fire Alarm Association "NBFAA" level one course and maintenance requirements of the same or equivalent;

            5.   Holds a current and valid electrical license from the Commonwealth of Kentucky, pursuant to KRS Chapter 227.

   (E)   Any false statement of a material matter made by an applicant for the purpose of obtaining a license, violation of the provisions of this chapter, or failure of an applicant to provide all the information required by this section shall be sufficient cause for refusal to issue a license or to revoke a license.

   (F)   Licenses issued pursuant to this section shall be valid for a period of one year and shall be renewable annually.

   (G)   Fees for initial license application or renewal shall not be refundable, transferable or prorated. The following fees shall apply to alarm business licenses, and shall accompany initial applications or renewals:

      (1)   Initial license application and initial license: $100.

      (2)   Annual renewal: $100.

   (H)   The Alarm Administrator may revoke a license if an alarm business fails to remain in compliance with all the provisions of this chapter.

(Lou. Metro Ord. No. 156-2021, approved 11-11-2021)

§ 127.08 PROCEDURES TO CONTEST DECISION NOT TO ISSUE, OR TO REVOKE LICENSES.

   Upon notice of the Alarm Administrator's refusal to issue an alarm business license, or upon notice of the revocation of an alarm business license, the license holder shall be provided an opportunity for a hearing on the matter before the Metro Government Code Enforcement Board, as established pursuant to §§ 32.275 et seq.

(Lou. Metro Ord. No. 156-2021, approved 11-11-2021)

§ 127.09 CONFIDENTIALITY.

   (A)   Information gathered from alarm businesses and alarm users in compliance with this chapter is deemed to be private and confidential and not subject to disclosure under Kentucky's Open Records Law, KRS 61.870 - 61.884. Metro Government declares that the public's interest in having access to information relating to the names and addresses of alarm users (and by implication, those without alarms) is outweighed by alarm users' and non-alarm users' interests in protecting the security measures which they use or which they do not use. Metro Government declares that it is an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy to require property owners to provide information pertaining to their personal security and then to release such information to the public, including the criminal element.

   (B)   Metro Government records, and those maintained by the Alarm Administrator concerning an alarm businesses' success in preventing or redressing false alarm dispatches shall be deemed open to the public as long as names and addresses of alarm users are not divulged.

(Lou. Metro Ord. No. 156-2021, approved 11-11-2021)

§ 127.10 SPECIAL RULES FOR INTENTIONALLY ACTIVATED ALARMS.

   No person shall intentionally activate an alarm when there is no life-threatening emergency or crime in progress.

(Lou. Metro Ord. No. 156-2021, approved 11-11-2021)