(a) For purposes of this section the following definitions shall apply:
(1) "Alarm system" means any assembly of equipment, mechanical or electrical, arranged to signal the occurrence of an unauthorized entry, robbery, medical and/or emergency, or any other activity requiring urgent attention and to which the Police Department is expected to respond.
(2) "Alarm user" means any person, firm, partnership, association, corporation, company or organization which owns, occupies or has any kind of control over a building, structure or facility wherein an alarm system is maintained.
(3) "False alarm" means the activation of an alarm system through mechanical failure, malfunction, improper installation, carelessness or negligence of the owner or lessee of an alarm system or his employees or agent. Such terminology does not include alarms caused by hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes or other similarly violent conditions or other conditions clearly beyond the control of the user, and does not include activating of an alarm system while the system is being tested to determine whether or not the system is in proper working order.
(b) The Chief of Police or his designee shall issue warnings and order the assessment of administrative, service fees against the alarm user and/or provider based upon the following schedule. The service fee is a partial reimbursement to the Village for the cost of receiving and responding to the false alarm. The number of false alarms shall be counted within any period of twelve months commencing with the first false alarm. The Chief of Police shall issue the guidelines which he intends to follow in the administration of this section.
FALSE ALARM NUMBER | ACTION TAKEN |
1 | Warning letter to user and/or provider. |
2 | Final warning letter to user and/or provider |
3 | Final warning letter to user and/or provider |
4 or subsequent | One hundred dollar ($100.00) fee to user and/or provider and proof of remedial action. |
(1) Upon the occurrence of the fourth false alarm within a single twelve month period, the Chief of Police shall notify the alarm user by regular mail or hand delivery of the receipt of four false alarms and instruct the alarm user to service the alarm system.
Upon receipt of this notice, the alarm user shall service the alarm system and take all necessary actions to correct the alarms system's tendency to emit false alarms.
(2) The Chief of Police may waive all or part of the above fee schedule for a newly installed alarm system during the thirty days immediately following the completion of the installation to a maximum of two false alarms.
(3) The Chief of Police shall order that the user or provider after a fourth false alarm prove that the cause of the false alarm notification has been remedied.
(c) No persons shall fail to comply with the notification and order of the Chief of Police under this section.
(d) (1) Whoever violates any provisions of this section by failing to pay the service fee or refusing to service the alarm system within thirty days of notification by the Chief of Police is guilty of a minor misdemeanor.
(2) A separate offense shall be deemed committed each day after the thirty day period following notification by the Chief of Police pursuant to subsection (b) hereof that the fee is not paid or the system is not serviced.
(e) (1) Any person who has been served a notice of an order of the Chief of Police may appeal the order to the Mayor. A notice of appeal, signed by each applicant, shall be filed with the Chief of Police. It shall set forth the reason(s) for the appeal. It must be filed within ten days after receipt of the notice from the Chief of Police. Filing of a notice of the appeal shall stay the order of the Chief of Police until a review of the appeal has been completed, unless the public health, safety or welfare requires immediate abatement of a public nuisance. If a request for an appeal is not filed within the ten day period, the action of the Chief of Police is final.
(2) The Mayor may uphold, stay or dismiss the actions of the Chief of Police pursuant to the provisions of the section.
(f) All moneys derived from the administrative service fees, including interest occurred thereon, shall go to the credit of the General Fund.
(Ord. 1994-11. Passed 3-29-94.)