[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town of Sterling 1-26-1987 STM by Art. 8, approved 4-13-1987; amended 2-27-1989 STM by Art. 14, approved 3-16-1989; 5-14-2007 ATM by Art. 47, approved with caution 9-5-2007; readopted 5-14-2012
ATM by Art. 19, approved 10-11-2012. Amendments noted where applicable.]
The purpose of this bylaw is to protect the
public safety and well being by ensuring that alarm systems installed
in the Town of Sterling are designed, installed and maintained to
achieve the following:
A. Maximum protection for life and property.
B. Conformity of system design with local, state and
national standards and Sterling Police and Fire Departments standard
operating guidelines.
C. Reduction of needless and/or false alarms.
E. Ease of operation and understanding.
The terms of this bylaw shall be enforced by
the Sterling Police Chief or Fire Chief or his/her designee. Appeals
from the Chief's determinations shall be made to the Sterling Select
Board within 30 days from their receipt by the appellant. All necessary
records will be maintained by the Sterling Fire Department.
A. All fees and penalties prescribed by this bylaw shall
be paid to the Town of Sterling through the Town Collector and shall
inure to the use of the Town. All bills will be sent to the Sterling
Fire Department.
B. The Fire or Police Chief is authorized to set and/or
to change any fees prescribed by this bylaw from time to time, with
the prior approval from the Select Board.
A. Alarms which automatically dial the dispatcher-answered
telephones in the Sterling Dispatch Center and deliver a recorded
message must use the telephone number(s) provided by the Chief of
Police or Fire Chief.
B. Any such alarm which uses either the Police Department
or Fire Department emergency number will incur a penalty of $100 for
the second and each subsequent offense.
A. Systems shall be configured to ensure that the maximum
amount of information available is transmitted to the dispatch office,
including but not limited to point, device, zone, supervisory, trouble
or other specific information for identifying the origin, location
and/or type of alarm signals. Zone configurations are to be approved
by the Fire Chief or his/her designee. All radio master box installations
shall be approved by the Fire Department and installed to ensure reliable
and consistent operation.
B. Any premises connected to the municipal alarm system
shall be required to have a Knox Box installed and provided by the
owner of the premises. The Fire Chief or his/her designee shall approve
of the location of the Knox Box prior to installation.
C. All new installations and all upgrade installations
shall be designed to meet the provisions of these requirements. Installers
shall be required to submit a municipal alarm connection permit application
prior to the installation of any equipment. The Fire Chief or his/her
designee must sign off on the design and application prior to the
installation of any equipment. The Police Chief will be notified of
any occupancy that is setup to monitor security signals through the
municipal alarm system. All new installations shall be fully tested
in the presence of the appropriate Code Official for acceptance and
approved before the system is placed in service. In the case of new
construction, no premises shall be allowed occupancy without this
approval.
D. It shall be the option of the owner of a premises
connected to the municipal alarm system as to whether or not the security
system is monitored through the radio master box or central station.
E. There shall be an annual fee of not less than $300
charged to the owner of an alarm system monitored by the municipal
signaling system. A fee of $100 annually shall be charged for a premises
requiring street or call-box access only. The term of service will
run from July 1 to June 30. Failure to pay the fee will initiate civil
court action. Annual fees shall be submitted to the Fire Department
before June 30.
F. The owner shall be required to provide an updated
list of contact information and responsible party information to the
Fire Department at the time payment is made.
G. Should an alarm system connection be made to the system
between January 1 and June 30 of a given term, the subscriber will
be responsible for paying a fee of $175 for the partial term of service.
This fee is to be paid prior to final inspection of the installation.
H. Any alarm system in its entirety shall be properly
maintained in good working order by the system owner.
I. The Fire Department shall be informed of the test
prior to its performance. Written documentation as to test results
shall be kept on file on the premises and forwarded to the Fire Department.
A. The owner of any alarm, whether directly connected
to the dispatch center, automatically dialed with a recorded message
to the dispatch center, phoned in by an answering service or by any
other person or otherwise causes a physical response by either the
Sterling Police Department or the Sterling Fire Department will incur
a penalty of $25 for the third and each subsequent false alarm during
any given calendar year.
B. The determination as to whether an alarm was false
or not will be made by the Chief of Police or the Fire Chief, after
consultation with the responder(s) and the Fire Chief or Chief of
Police if necessary.