[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Village of Harriman 12-21-1988
as Ch. 50 of the 1988 Code. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Police Department — See Ch. 31.
The purpose of this chapter is to establish standards and controls of
the various types of intrusion, holdup and other emergency signals from police
alarm devices that require police and/or firemen response, investigation and
safeguarding of property at the location of an event reported by a signal
which is transmitted by telephone or radio or which is otherwise relayed to
the Police and/or Fire Department by an alarm device requiring investigation
or other action by any person acting in response to a signal actuated by an
alarm device, including such devices already in use within the Village of
Harriman.
For the purpose of this chapter, the following definitions shall apply:
Any person who is employed by any business, firm, corporation or
other commercial entity that is licensed hereunder to conduct the business
of owning, operating, maintaining, installing, leasing or selling police and/or
fire alarm devices and whose duties include any of the following: selling,
maintaining, leasing, servicing, repairing, altering, replacing, moving or
installing in or on any building, place or premises any police and/or fire
alarm device as defined in this chapter within the Village of Harriman.
Any police and/or fire alarm device or aggregation of police and/or
fire alarm devices installed on or within a single building or on or within
more than one building or area adjacently located on a common site at a specific
location.
Any business, firm, corporation or other commercial entity which
is in the business of owning, operating, maintaining, installing, leasing
or selling police and/or fire alarm devices, which business, firm, corporation
or other commercial entity is, as owner, operator, provider of maintenance
service, installer, lessor or seller of said devices or system of devices,
subject to the license requirements of this chapter.
Any facility operated by a private firm that owns or leases a system
of police and/or fire alarm devices which is a telephone device or telephone
attachment that automatically or electronically selects a telephone line connected
to a central alarm station and reproduces a prerecorded message to report
a criminal act or other emergency requiring Police and/or Fire Department
response.
It shall be prohibited to have any police and/or fire alarm device
connected directly by leased telephone wires from a specific location to police
headquarters.
Any police and/or fire alarm device designed to be actuated by a
fire, criminal act or other emergency at a specific location or by a victim
of a holdup, robbery or other emergency or criminal act at a specific location.
Any signal actuated by an emergency alarm to which the Police and/or
Fire Department responds which is not the result of a fire, holdup, robbery
or other crime or emergency.
Any entry into an area or building equipped with one or more police
alarm devices by any person or object whose entry actuates a police alarm
device.
The Police Chief of the Village of Harriman through the Village Board.
Any device which, when actuated by a criminal act or other emergency
requiring police response, transmits a prerecorded message or other signal
by telephone, radio or other means to a central alarm station or produces
an audible or visible signal designed to notify persons within audible or
visible alarm range of the signal.
Police headquarters and other enclosures housing privately or publicly
owned equipment serving the Police Department.
A.
It shall be unlawful to operate, maintain, install, lease
or sell a police and/or fire alarm device without a license. It shall be unlawful
for any person, business, firm, corporation or other commercial entity to
operate, maintain, install, lease or sell a police and/or fire alarm device
or devices or system of police and/or fire alarm devices, as defined by the
terms of this chapter, without first obtaining a license as hereinafter provided.
B.
Authority to grant licenses and permits.
(1)
The licensing authority is hereby authorized to grant
a revocable license upon approval of the Village Board of Trustees to any
business, firm, corporation or other commercial entity authorizing said business,
firm, corporation or other commercial entity to do business in the Village
of Harriman by performing any or all of the following functions: to own, operate,
maintain, install, lease or sell a police and/or fire alarm device or devices
or system of police and/or fire alarm devices.
(2)
The licensing authority is hereby authorized to grant
a revocable license upon approval of the Village Board to any alarm agent.
(3)
The licensing authority is hereby authorized to grant
a revocable permit to any owner of property located within the Village of
Harriman or the lessee thereof to operate, maintain, install and modify a
police and/or fire alarm device.
(4)
All presently existing police and/or fire alarm devices
and systems of fire or police alarm devices and present owners and lessees
of premises having such devices or systems must comply with all provisions
of this chapter by such date as shall be fixed by resolution of the Village
Board of Trustees.
Applications for licenses and permits shall be made as follows:
A.
All businesses, firms, corporations or other commercial
entities which are in the business of owning, operating, maintaining, installing,
leasing or selling a police and/or fire alarm device or devices or system
of police and/or fire alarm devices who desire to conduct business in the
Village of Harriman shall apply to the licensing authority for a business
license on a form to be supplied by the licensing authority. The application
shall contain specific provisions relating to the quality, efficiency and
effectiveness of the device or system of devices owned or to be operated,
maintained, installed, leased or sold by the business licensee, testing procedures
involved and any other information the licensing authority shall determine
to be reasonably necessary to effectuate the purpose of this chapter. Such
business license shall be issued for a one-year period, on a calendar year
basis or a part thereof, and no license shall extend beyond December 31 of
each year. Notwithstanding this provision, a person having a business license
may conduct such business through January 31 of the year following the expiration
of his business license.
B.
Any person who is to be an alarm agent in the Village
of Harriman, before acting as such alarm agent, shall apply for and receive
a revocable alarm agent license. The application shall be made to the licensing
authority on a form to be supplied by the licensing authority. The application
shall contain specific provisions relating to the police and/or fire alarm
device or devices, holdup alarms, dial alarms or alarm installations which
are to be sold, leased, installed, operated or maintained by the alarm agency
and such other information the licensing authority determines to be reasonably
necessary to effectuate the purpose of this chapter. Such license shall be
issued for a one-year period, on a calendar year basis or a part thereof,
and no license shall extend beyond December 31 of each year. Notwithstanding
this provision, a person having an alarm agent license may act as such alarm
agent through January 31 of the year following the expiration of his license.
C.
Any property owner or lessee of property in the Village
of Harriman having on his or its premises a fire or police alarm device or
system of fire or police alarm devices shall apply to the licensing authority,
on a form to be supplied by the licensing authority, for a permit to own or
to otherwise have such a device on his or its premises. The application shall
contain provisions relating to the device or system of devices installed or
to be installed on the premises. Applications for permits for police and/or
fire alarm devices existing in premises on the effective date of this chapter
must be made to the licensing authority by such date as shall be fixed by
resolution by the Village Board of tees. No such devices may be installed
on the premises of the owner or lessee after the effective date of this chapter
prior to the licensing authority having issued a permit to such owner or lessee,
and no presently existing fire or police alarm device, 3hall be modified after
the effective date of this chapter prior to the licensing authority having
issued a permit to such owner or lessee. Such permit need not be obtained
on an annual basis but shall be obtained each time a device or system is to
be installed or modified.
License fees for a business license, alarm agent license and owners
or lessee permits shall be such as shall be fixed from time to time by resolution
of the Village Board of Trustees.
A license issued under this chapter may be suspended or revoked by the
licensing authority, after notice and hearing by the licensing authority,
for the violation of any of the provisions of this chapter or of any regulation
or regulations promulgated by the licensing authority pursuant to this chapter,
and any license or identification card issued hereunder shall be surrendered
immediately to the licensing authority upon such suspension or revocation.
No part of a license fee shall be refunded when a license is suspended or
revoked. Any applicant whose application for a license or permit has been
denied or any business licensee, alarm agent, owner or lessee whose license
has been suspended or revoked by the licensing authority may appeal such denial,
suspension or revocation in writing to the Board of Trustees within 30 days
after the date of denial or of the notice of suspension or revocation and
may appear before such Board of Trustees at a time and place to be determined
by the Board of Trustees in support of his or its contention that the license
should not have been denied, suspended or revoked. The decision of the Board
of Trustees shall be final.
Every business, firm, corporation or other commercial entity conducting
the business of owning, operating, installing, leasing or selling fire or
police alarm devices within the Village of Harriman shall maintain complete
and accurate records of all installations of alarm systems in the Village
of Harriman and shall produce such records for inspection by the licensing
authority upon demand.
A.
Limitation. No fire or police alarm device shall be connected
to or use any telephone line connected to Police or Fire Department headquarters.
The owner and licensee of any such police and/or fire alarm device which is
connected either directly or indirectly to police and/or fire headquarters
by a telephone line which has not been authorized for use for such purpose
as aforesaid, on and after such date as shall be fixed by resolution of the
Village Board of Trustees, shall be in violation of this chapter and shall
be subject to the penalty provisions hereof.
B.
Intentional false alarm. It shall be a violation of this
chapter to intentionally cause a false holdup alarm, and any person who does
intentionally cause a false holdup alarm shall be subject to the penalty provisions
hereof.
C.
Charges for false emergency alarms. Any owner or lessee
of property having a police and/or fire alarm device or system of police and/or
fire alarm devices on his or its premises on the effective date of this chapter
shall pay to the village a charge for each and every false emergency alarm
to which the Police and/or Fire Department responds in each calendar year,
in such amounts as shall be determined by resolution of the Village Board
of Trustees. Such charges shall be paid to the Village Treasurer. Failure
to pay any such charges shall subject such owner, lessee or user to the penalty
provisions of this chapter, which are as follows: the fines for each calendar
year shall be, for the first two alarms, no charge; for the third false alarm,
$50; for the fourth to fifth false alarm, $100; and for each additional false
alarm, $250.
D.
Installation and maintenance. The owner or lessee shall
be responsible for the maintenance and service of his or its fire or police
alarm device equipment and shall be responsible for all malfunctions of his
or its equipment.
E.
Change of location. If the location of Police and/or
Fire Department headquarters should be changed at any time, the village shall
not be responsible for any expense incurred by the owner or lessee or business
licensee or alarm agent for moving alarm systems or reconnecting such systems
to the relocated police headquarters.
F.
Removal of unlawful equipment. In addition to any other
remedy provided by law, the licensing authority, whenever it shall have knowledge
of the use of any fire or police alarm device, cabinet or attachment or telephone
terminal which is not operated or maintained in accordance with the provisions
of this chapter or which is contrary to regulations promulgated pursuant to
this chapter and after notice and hearing by the licensing authority, may
order the removal of the same from police headquarters, and it shall be unlawful
to disobey such order.
G.
Any false emergency alarm to which the Police Department
responds brought about through a telephone answering service shall be attributable
to the owner or lessee of the property activating such alarm.
Dial alarm devices using telephone switchboards for prerecorded voice
messages are prohibited. No person shall use or cause or permit to be used
any alarm device that automatically selects a telephone trunk line of the
Police and/or Fire Department and then reproduces any prerecorded voice message
to report any crime, fire or other emergency. In the event that, prior to
the effective date of this chapter, such an alarm device causes more than
three false alarms to occur, it may be directed by the licensing authority
that such device be disconnected.
No person shall install or maintain in any building, structure or establishment
in the Village of Harriman an external audible alarm of any type which does
not also contain an automatic cutoff system or feature automatically cutting
off the source of power to the alarm after it has sounded for a period of
no longer than 15 minutes.
Any person, firm or corporation who does not pay any charge or fee established
in this chapter or who violates any provision of this chapter shall be subject
to a fine not in excess of $250, imprisonment for up to 15 days, or both,
for each offense. A separate offense shall be deemed committed upon each day
during which a violation occurs or is committed.
