(A) The provisions of the preamble of Ord. 95-12 are hereby adopted as though fully set forth herein.
(B) (1) After the designated Alarm Officer with the Village Police Department has recorded three alarm occurrences within fiscal year May 1 to April 30, a notice will be sent to the alarm owner or lessees, in writing by first class mail, of the fact and that any additional false alarms will result in service charges. Thereafter, in every 30-day period, an assessed fee of $50 for each false alarm transmitted by the system within the 12-month period thereafter where the false alarm results in a response by the Police or Fire Department.
(2) The Alarm Officer shall present evidence of the number of violations and also provide to the Village Clerk the violator’s names, addresses or location of violation along with the date and time of the violation. The Village Clerk shall invoice out the owner or lessees of the offending alarm system the schedule, penalties and fines imposed in accordance set forth in division (B)(1) above and shall further apprise the owner or lessee that he, she or it has 30 days from the mailing of the invoice to pay the fines. If the owner or lessees of the system fails to pay the fee within 30 days of demand therefor, then the alarm shall be disconnected. Every owner or lessee connecting an alarm system with the village shall, by virtue of the connection, be bound by the fee provisions hereof and shall thereby consent to disconnection for non-payment without recourse or liability of the village. Also, failure of the licensee or owner of any offending alarm and/or alarms user to pay the fines will be assessed these fines at the time of the renewal of his, her or their business license which must be paid prior to receiving his, her or their business license.
(C) For the purpose of this section, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
ALARM SYSTEM. Any assembly of equipment, mechanical or electrical, arranged to signal the occurrence of an illegal entry or other activity or condition requiring urgent attention to which the Police and/or Fire Department are expected to respond; however, this does not include audible alarms or fire detectors affixed to automobiles or other motor vehicles, nor does it include audible alarm signals which may be heard only within a building, such as smoke or carbon monoxide detectors.
FALSE ALARM. Activation of an alarm system through mechanical failure, malfunction, improper installation or the negligence of the owner or lessee of an alarm system or any of his or her employees or agents, but shall not include alarms resulting from criminal activity, unusual weather conditions or interruption of any telephone or electrical service or other unusual occurrences outside the ability of the owner or lessee of the alarm system to prevent.
(D) The village shall take every possible precaution to assure that alarm signals are given appropriate attention and are acted on with dispatch. Nevertheless, the village shall not be liable for any defects in operation of any alarm system, for any failure or neglect of any person in connection with the installation or operation of equipment, the transmission of signals or the relay of the signals and messages. In the event that the village finds it necessary to disconnect a defective device, the village shall incur no liability by the action.
(E) The fees imposed by this section shall become effective as of the first day of and shall be imposed without exception. Otherwise, this section shall be in full force and effect from after its passage, approval and publication in pamphlet form as provided by law.
(Ord. 95-12, passed 12-18-1995)