[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Village of Owego 8-3-1992 by L.L. No. 3-1992. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Noise — See Ch. 146.
This chapter may be known and cited by the following short title: "A Local Law Regulating the Sales, Installation and Maintenance of Burglar, Fire and Other Emergency Alarms in the Village of Owego."
For the purpose of this chapter, the following terms are defined:
ALARM SUPPLIER AND/OR INSTALLER
Any person or party who manufactures, constructs, installs or otherwise prepares emergency alarms to be installed anywhere in the village.
EMERGENCY ALARMS
Any alarm system designed to send a signal, recorded or otherwise, which terminates in any manner at the communication center of the village, or any alarm system designed to emit an audible signal at the scene of the installation.
No alarm supplier and/or installer shall be permitted to do business in the village without first being licensed to do so by said village. The fee for such licenses shall be set forth from time to time by resolution of the Board of Trustees.
[1]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I). The current fee schedule is located in Ch. A199, Fees.
A. 
Application required. No emergency alarms as defined by § 73-2 of this chapter shall be installed in the village without prior submission of an application to and without prior approval of the Chief of Police, Village of Owego, to have said emergency alarm installed.
B. 
Application fee. A fee as set forth from time to time by resolution of the Board of Trustees must accompany said application.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I). The current fee schedule is located in Ch. A199, Fees.
C. 
Exception. Any alarm installation which will terminate at either a central station or an answering service will not need an application, but the installer must furnish the Police Department with complete information as to the type of alarm, maintenance service, emergency numbers and any other information deemed pertinent by the Chief of Police.
A. 
Systems terminating at communication center. An annual fee will be charged by the village for each and every alarm system which terminates directly at the communications center, either to a module or, in the case of a dialer, to a number assigned for the same by the Police Department. Said fees shall be set forth from time to time by resolution of the Board of Trustees.
B. 
Systems not terminating at communications center. An annual fee, in an amount set forth from time to time by resolution of the Board of Trustees, will be charged by the village for every alarm system not terminating at the communications center (central station terminations, answering service terminations, local at-scene call, etc.), said fee to defray the costs of maintaining records of the same.
C. 
Payable in advance; penalty for delinquency. These fees are due and payable in advance, and it shall be the responsibility of the applicant and/or alarm supplier and/or installer to have the fee paid on time. Any system for which the village has not received the annual fee by April 30 of the applicable year will be disconnected at the communications center terminals, and a fee, in an amount set forth from time to time by resolution of the Board of Trustees, plus the yearly fee, shall be due before the terminal will be reconnected. In the case of systems which do not terminate directly at the communications center, a penalty of $10 will be charged for failure to pay said fee.
[1]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I). The current fee schedule is located in Ch. A199, Fees.
Any and all emergency alarms in the village must be adequately maintained. This maintenance will be carried out only by personnel licensed by the village pursuant to § 73-3.
Rules and regulations governing operation, testing, etc., of emergency alarm systems will be determined by the Chief of Police. These rules and regulations must be adhered to; violation of the same could result in the suspension or revocation of the applicant's permit.
Response on the part of police patrol units or firemen on any alarm not only endangers the lives of the persons who are proceeding to the scene, but also civilians along the way. All caution possible is used in making these responses, but there is always the element of danger. False alarms, when they are caused by human error or malfunctions of the equipment at the subscribers' terminals, cannot be allowed to continue. At the same time it is recognized that some false alarms cannot be avoided due to unexpected equipment failures. Therefore two false alarms in a twenty-four-month period shall be allowed without penalty. Further, two or more false alarms in any one twenty-four-hour period shall constitute but a single false alarm for the purposes of this section. For all false alarms in excess of two in any twenty-four-month period, a penalty of $50 will be levied against any subscriber whose equipment transmits such false alarms. Wire trouble, caused by problems within the telephone lines, can be monitored by the console and will not be considered as a false alarm.
All emergency alarm systems which terminate in modules at the communications center must be of the polarity-reversing type for the purpose of distinguishing an actual alarm from equipment or line trouble.
All at-scene audible alarm systems must be installed with a time-out timer which will discontinue the signal after a predetermined length of time in order to prevent unnecessary harassment of area residents when it is impossible to locate someone to turn off the alarm.
Any dialer type of alarm system will be programmed to dial a representative of the subscriber as well as the communications center's assigned number.
The subscriber and/or dealer/installer will furnish the Police Department with adequate information to complete the emergency card for premises which has alarm system, a supply of which is available at the Police Department.
The village shall take every reasonable precaution to assure that emergency alarm signals or prerecorded alarm messages received by the village are given appropriate and immediate attention. Nevertheless, the village shall not be liable for any defects in the operation of emergency alarm systems, for any failure to respond appropriately or any errant response upon receipt of any emergency alarm signal nor for the failure or defect of any licensee pursuant to § 73-3 in respect to the installation, operation or maintenance of equipment, the transmission of alarm signals or messages or the relaying of such signals or messages. In the event that the village finds it necessary to disconnect a module signaling device, the village shall incur no liability therefrom.
Any person violating any of the provisions of this chapter shall be guilty of a violation and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punishable by a fine not exceeding $250 for each offense or imprisonment not exceeding 15 days, or both such fine and imprisonment.