This chapter is enacted to regulate the installation and use of police,
fire, and other emergency signal systems designed to require Police Department
and/or Fire Department response, investigation, and/or safeguarding of persons
or property at the location of an event reported by such a signal. Said signals
may be transmitted by telephone, leased wire, radio, or otherwise to the Police
Department. It is the intent of this chapter to reduce in number false alarms
and to encourage the use of reliable emergency signal systems.
For the purpose of this chapter, the following words and phrases shall
have the meanings respectively ascribed to them by this section:
ALARM DEVICE
Any mechanism, equipment, or device that is designed to operate,
automatically or manually, to transmit an audible or visible signal, message,
or warning from one place to another location. Excluded from this definition
are devices which are designed to alert or signal only persons within the
premises in which the device is installed.
ALARM USER
The owner of any premises in which an alarm device is used, provided that an occupant or lessee who expressly accepts responsibility for an alarm device by registration pursuant to §
41-3 shall be deemed the alarm user.
ALARM USER PERMIT
A permit issued by the Village Manager or his designee to a property
owner, lessee or occupant of property in the Village or Mt. Kisco Fire District
having on such premises an alarm device or system of alarm devices. Such permittee
shall be required to provide type of system, property address, phone numbers
of emergency contacts, name of monitoring company, etc.
CENTRAL ALARM STATION
Any facility operated by a private firm that receives, records, or
validates alarm signals and relays, directly or indirectly, information about
such validated signals to the Police Department when appropriate.
FALSE ALARM
Any activation of an alarm device to which the Police, Fire Department
or other emergency services personnel are dispatched and which is not caused
by a criminal act, fire or other emergency.
PERSON
Any natural person, firm, partnership, association, corporation,
company or organization of any kind.
VILLAGE
The Village/Town of Mount Kisco.
The alarm device owner, lessee or user shall be responsible for the
maintenance and service of the alarm device and shall be responsible for all
malfunctions of such device.
The Village Manager or his or her designee is hereby authorized to grant
revocable annual owner's alarm permits pursuant to provisions of this
chapter and pursuant to rules and regulations promulgated by the Village Manager.
Such licenses and permits may be revoked for good cause shown.
The Village Manager or his or her duly authorized representative is
hereby empowered to promulgate reasonable rules, regulations and standards
that may be necessary for the purpose of assuring the proper implementation
of the provisions of this chapter. Said rules and regulations shall be set
forth in writing, and copies shall be available for applicants.
Any licensing or permitting fees and any false alarm charges shall be
billed and collected by the Police Department and made payable to the Village/Town
of Mount Kisco.
It shall be the duty of the Police Chief to keep a record of owner's
alarm permits issued, fees and charges collected and report same to the Village
Manager on an annual basis. It shall be the duty of the Fire Chief to keep
a record of all alarm responses made by the Fire Department and convey to
the Police Chief on a monthly basis a record of all false alarms.
None of the provisions of this chapter shall apply to an alarm device
or system of devices installed in a motor vehicle or trailer nor to employees
of a public utility company engaged in the business of providing communications
services. Furthermore, no alarm user shall be fined for or attributed with
a false alarm where such alarm is due to a Village-wide, district-wide or
neighborhood-wide power outage or surge.
No liability whatsoever is assumed by the Village, its departments,
officers, agents or employees for the failure of such alarm devices or monitoring
facilities or for the failure to respond to alarms or for any other omission
in connection with such alarm devices. Each alarm user shall be deemed to
hold and save harmless the Village, its departments, officers, agents and
employees from liability in connection with the alarm user's alarm device.
Any applicant whose application for a permit has been denied or any
person whose permit has been revoked or any owner, lessee or occupant who
is charged for one or more false alarms may contest such denial, revocation,
or charge in writing to the Village Manager within 10 days after the date
of the notice of the denial, revocation, or charge. An appeal from the Village
Manager's determination may be in writing to the Board of Trustees within
10 days of the Manager's determination. The decision of the Board of
Trustees shall be final.
The failure of any person to obtain any permit as required by this chapter or to perform or obey any provision of this chapter or to obey any order of the Police Department, Fire Department or the Village Manager pursuant to this chapter constitutes a violation punishable by a fine as provided in §
1-17B of this Code. Each week that such violation continues after the expiration of any period allowed for compliance under the provisions of this chapter shall constitute an separate offense.