[Amended 11-5-2015 by L.L. No. 5-2015]
Any owner or lessee of real property having
a fire and/or police alarm system or system of fire and/or police
alarm devices on his/her or its property on the effective date of
this chapter shall pay to the Town of Walworth a charge for each and
every false fire or police emergency alarm to which a Fire Department
or police agency, including but not limited to the Wayne County Sheriff's
Department or State Police, in the Town of Walworth responds in any
twelve-month period as follows:
A. The first three false emergency alarms in any calendar
year, a written warning shall be issued by the Fire Marshal, and for
each of these false alarms no charge shall be imposed.
B. For each of the next three false alarms in any calendar
year, the property owner shall pay a charge to the Town of Walworth
as set forth from time to time by Town Board resolution and on file
in the office of the Town Clerk.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. I)]
C. For each subsequent false alarm in any calendar year
after the sixth, the property owner shall pay a charge to the Town
of Walworth as set forth from time to time by Town Board resolution
and on file in the office of the Town Clerk.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. I)]
Any property owner who is charged for one or
more false alarms may contest such charge, by mailing written notice,
setting forth that he/she or it objects to the charge, to the Supervisor
of the Town of Walworth within 10 days after the notice of the charges
are sent to the property owner. The Supervisor shall then within the
next succeeding 30 days send notice to the property owner at its last
known address of a date for a hearing before the Supervisor of the
Town. The hearing shall be informal, and the property owner shall
not be required to be put under oath. The Supervisor of the Town shall
send written notice of his or her decision to the property owner within
10 days of the hearing and the decision of the Supervisor of the Town
shall be final.
All notices sent pursuant to this chapter shall
be sent by certified mail or registered mail, return receipt requested,
and shall be considered sent on the date of mailing.
The malfunction of an alarm user's system which
causes a false alarm shall, even though it is a malfunction, constitute
a false alarm and a charge shall be imposed for a false alarm as set
forth in this chapter.
All charges imposed for false alarms as established
by this chapter shall be paid within 30 days of the charge being final.
If the charge is not paid within 30 days of
the charge being a final charge, then a late penalty of 10% shall
be added to the amount charged. For each month thereafter, an interest
charge of 1% per month shall be added to the charge until paid. Any
charge overdue for 30 days or more, together with interest and penalties,
shall be added to the next Town and county tax bill on which the fire
and/or police alarm system is located if the charge plus late penalties
and interest have not been paid by the last date on which said delinquent
payments can be added to the Town and county tax bill.