A. Duties Of The Alarm User: An alarm user shall maintain the premises and the alarm system in a manner that will minimize or eliminate false alarms, which shall include periodic maintenance and cleaning of the alarm system. The alarm user shall also make every reasonable effort to respond or cause a representative to respond to the alarm system location within fifteen (15) minutes when notified by the police department, fire department or alarm company to deactivate a malfunctioning alarm system. The representative shall provide access to the premises or provide alternative security for the premises.
The alarm user may advise the police department or fire department that no representative will be responding to the alarm site. However, failure of an alarm user or representative thereof to respond to an alarm site may result in no further police department or fire department intervention at said site and for said occurrence due to the failure of a representative to respond.
The alarm user shall not manually activate an alarm for any reason other than the occurrence of an event that the alarm system was intended to report.
B. Number Allowed Before Fees Assessed: An alarm user shall be allowed two (2) false alarms within a one year period of time, commencing with the first false alarm, before a fee is assessed. This one year period of time may continue over two (2) different calendar years.
C. Fees: An alarm user shall be subject to a false alarm response fee for the third false alarm and for each additional false alarm occurring within the one year period as described above. A fee of five hundred dollars ($500.00) shall be assessed if the false alarm results in the fire department responding and a fee of one hundred dollars ($100.00) shall be assessed if the false alarm results in the police department responding. In the event of a false alarm, the department which is effected by the false alarm shall prepare and send a billing statement to the alarm user. The alarm user shall pay the bill for the alarm fee to the city in full within thirty (30) days from the date of the mailing or other notification of the fee assessed.
D. Waiver Of Fees: A false alarm response fee may be waived upon the discretion of the police chief or fire chief if the alarm system was activated by extraordinary circumstances not reasonably subject to the control of the alarm business or alarm user, including violent natural conditions or occurrences, or the installation of a new system where false alarms might be anticipated until the system is adjusted properly.
If it is determined by the police chief or fire chief that a false alarm signal from an alarm user was due to an event beyond the reasonable control of the alarm user, that event may not be considered a false alarm for the purpose of this chapter.
If alarm signals were caused by a malfunctioning alarm system, which caused two (2) or more false alarms in a six (6) hour period, and the alarm user exercised their best efforts to limit alarm signals caused by the malfunction, those false alarms shall be counted as one false alarm.
An alarm signal that a person intentionally activated in response to an actual or threatened criminal activity or fire emergency shall not be considered a false alarm.
E. False Alarm Fee Appeal Process: An alarm user may appeal the police department's or fire department's assessment of a fee to the respective alarm administrator. The alarm user shall file a written appeal to the alarm administrator stating the reasons for the appeal within ten (10) business days after receipt of notice of the fee. Upon verbal contact with the alarm user, the alarm administrator may waive the written appeal and conduct the matter informally.
If the alarm administrator denies the appeal of the fee, the alarm administrator shall send written notice of the action and statement of the right to an appeal to the chief of police or fire chief. The notice shall include the appropriate time frames and procedures to file an appeal of the alarm administrator's decision.
An aggrieved alarm user can appeal the decision of the alarm administrator. Upon receipt of the alarm administrator's denial, the alarm user may appeal the decision by filing a written request for a review, setting forth the reasons for the appeal, within ten (10) business days of the date of the notice from the alarm administrator. Such written request shall be filed with the chief of police or the fire chief.
The chief of the city department assessing the fee, i.e., the police chief or the fire chief, shall conduct a formal hearing and consider the evidence by any interested person(s). The chief of police or fire chief shall make a decision on the basis of the preponderance of evidence presented at the hearing. The chief of police or the fire chief must render a written decision within thirty (30) days after the appeal hearing is held.
An aggrieved alarm user can appeal the chief of police's or fire chief's decision to the city council after the formal hearing conducted by the chief of police or the fire chief. After the chief of police or fire chief has issued a decision following the formal hearing, the alarm user shall have ten (10) business days to request, in writing, an appeal to the city council. Such written request for an appeal shall be filed with the office of the city clerk. If further appeal is taken, it shall be pursuant to the administrative procedures act of the Idaho Code.
The alarm administrator shall then prepare the necessary paperwork to place the matter on the city council agenda. The alarm administrator shall notify the alarm user in writing of the time and date of the appeal which will be at a regularly scheduled city council meeting. (Ord. 1610, 11-12-2013)