[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Tuxedo 12-15-1997 by L.L. No. 6-1997. Amendments noted where applicable.]
The Town Board of the Town of Tuxedo hereby finds that standards and controls regarding intrusion, fire, holdup and other emergency signal devices or protective services are necessary to safeguard the public health, safety and welfare and that such standards and controls will afford greater emergency protection to the public, will expedite emergency communication and response, will facilitate coordination of emergency procedures and identification of persons and devices engaged in providing such procedures, will minimize false alarms and other misleading or confusing signals and will encourage the use of reliable systems and personnel to facilitate emergency services available to the public. This chapter is intended to serve the foregoing purposes by prohibiting the sale, leasing, use, installation, repair or maintenance of any police, fire or medical emergency alarm device or protective service in the Town of Tuxedo except in conformity with the provision of this chapter and rules and regulations promulgated hereunder.
For the purpose of this chapter, the following words and phrases shall have the meanings respectively ascribed to them by this section:
ALARM DEVICE (POLICE, FIRE AND MEDICAL EMERGENCY)
Any device which, when activated, transmits a prerecorded message or other signal by telephone, radio, central alarm station or audible or visible signal designed to cause any person within audible or visual range to notify the Police Department, Fire Department or ambulance requiring their respective emergency response.[1]
ALARM REGISTRATION
The written acknowledgment of the Town Clerk to the registration of any police, fire or medical emergency alarm devices.
[Amended 7-12-1999 by L.L. No. 7-1999]
AUTOMATIC DIAL ALARM
Any police, fire or emergency medical alarm device which is a telephone device or telephone attachment that automatically or electronically transmits a signal to preselected telephone lines connected to signal to a central alarm station or police headquarters and communicates a report of a criminal act or other emergency requiring police, fire or medical emergency response.
CENTRAL ALARM STATION
Any facility operated by a private firm that owns or leases a system of police, fire or medical emergency alarm devices, which facility is manned by operators who receive, record or validate alarm signals to the Police Department, Fire Department or ambulance service when appropriate.
DIRECT CONNECTION
Any alarm device which transmits a signal or impulse over a telephone line to the alarm indicator panel at police headquarters.
FALSE ALARM
Any signal actuated by an alarm device or system of police, fire or medical emergency alarm devices which is not the result of a natural disaster, act of God, criminal act, fire or other emergency, resulting in police, fire or other emergency services response. The term "false alarm" shall include human error and equipment malfunction causing the alarm to be activated and which results in police or fire response.[2]
PUBLIC NUISANCE
Anything which annoys, injures or endangers the comfort, repose, health or safety of any person(s) of any community or neighborhood.
SMOKE AND/OR HEAT DETECTOR
Any device which, when activated by fire or smoke or other emergency, is designed to alert only the occupants of the building to said emergency.
[1]
Editor's Note: The former definitions of "alarm license" and "alarm licensee," which immediately followed this definition, were repealed 7-12-1999 by L.L. No. 7-1999.
[2]
Editor's Note: The former definition of "licensing authority," which immediately followed this definition, was repealed 7-12-1999 by L.L. No. 7-1999.
It shall be a violation of this chapter for any automatic dial alarm to be directly connected to the emergency telephone line of the Police Department and/or Fire Department and/or ambulance service. Any such automatic dial alarm may be connected to a central alarm station or other answering service for notification of the appropriate service. Existing systems in violation of this section shall have 90 days from the effective date of this chapter to convert or make the necessary change in compliance therewith.
It shall be a violation of this chapter for any police, fire or medical emergency alarm device to be directly connected to the Police Department and/or Fire Department and/or ambulance service. Any such police, fire or medical emergency device may be connected to a central alarm station or other answering service for notification to the appropriate service.
All alarm systems shall be equipped with a device which will give an indication, prior to alarm system activation, which warns the alarm user of an open circuit.
No person shall install, cause to be installed, maintain or cause to be maintained in a structure, building or establishment in the Town of Tuxedo an external audible police, fire or medical emergency alarm device which does not also contain an automatic cutoff system or feature automatically cutting off the source of power to the alarm sounding device after it has sounded for a period of not longer than 15 minutes.
A. 
Upon receiving complaint(s) regarding a continuous uninterrupted or continuously recurring signal, the Police Department shall endeavor to contact the alarm user or those persons designated by the alarm user as contacts, in an effort to abate the nuisance. In the event that the Police Department is unable to contact the alarm user or those designated as contacts, or if the aforesaid persons cannot or will not curtail the audible signal being emitted by the alarm system, and if the Police Department is otherwise unable to abate the nuisance, the Police Department may direct a police officer, fire fighter or a qualified alarm technician to enter upon the property outside the home or building in which the alarm system is located and take any reasonable action necessary to abate the nuisance.
B. 
After an entry upon the property has been made in accordance with this section, the Police Department shall have the property secured, if necessary. The reasonable costs and expenses of abating a nuisance in accordance with this section may be assessed to the alarm user.
[Amended 7-12-1999 by L.L. No. 7-1999]
It shall be the obligation of any alarm registration holder to provide the Police Department and/or Town Clerk with a minimum of two persons to be contacted with the authority to enter the registrant's premises for the purpose of securing and restoring said alarm system, when necessary.
[Amended 7-12-1999 by L.L. No. 7-1999]
A. 
Any property owner or lessee of property in the Town of Tuxedo, having on its premises an alarm device or system of alarm devices, shall register with the Town Clerk, on a form to be supplied by the Town Clerk, the existence of such a device on its premises. The registration application shall contain provisions relating to the device or system of devices installed or to be installed on the premises. Registration applications for alarm devices existing on the premises on the effective date of this chapter must be made to the Town Clerk by such date as shall be fixed by resolution of the Town Board. No such devices may be installed on the premises of the owner or lessee, after the effective date of this chapter, without prior registration with the Town Clerk. Registrations shall be updated each time a device or system is to be installed or modified.
[Amended 7-12-1999 by L.L. No. 7-1999]
All registrations of alarms shall be submitted to the Town Clerk. Said registration application shall include a description of the police, fire or medical emergency alarm device, devices or system of police, fire or medical emergency alarm devices installed, maintained or to be installed and such other information as shall be required by the Town Clerk.
All permit holders of holdup, panic, medic alert, smoke and fire alert devices shall be required to provide written authorization to the Police Department, Fire Department and ambulance service to forcibly enter the premises for the purpose of verifying the validity of the emergency condition.
The fee for an alarm permit shall be established by resolution of the Town Board.
Under no circumstances shall the cost of any police, fire or medical emergency alarm device, devices or system of police, fire or medical emergency alarm devices and the maintenance of the same be charged to the Town of Tuxedo, its Police or Fire Department and/or ambulance service. The owner or lessee of such police, fire or medical emergency alarm devices shall be solely responsible for the service of his or her police, fire or medical emergency alarm devices and/or correcting any malfunction of the same that may occur.
A. 
The designation of a false intrusion alarm will be determined by the Police Department. The designation of a false fire alarm will be determined by the Fire Department, and the designation of a false medical alarm will be determined by the Captain of the Ambulance Corps.
B. 
The Chief of Police of the Town of Tuxedo shall cause to be kept an up-to-date and accurate log of all false intrusion alarms, and the Chief of the Tuxedo Joint Fire District shall cause to be kept an up-to-date and accurate log of all false fire alarms, and the Captains of the ambulance corps shall cause to be kept an up-to-date and accurate log of all false medical alert alarms. These logs shall be transmitted to the Town Clerk on a monthly basis.
C. 
Any owner or lessee of property having a police, fire or medical emergency alarm device on his premises shall pay to the Town Clerk, upon demand, a charge for each and every false alarm occurring on his premises in any alarm permit year as follows:
Number of False Alarms
Commercial or Residential Fee
1
$0
2
$10
3
$25
4
$50
5
$100
Each after 5
$150
Each after 10
$200
D. 
Any failure by such owner or lessee to pay the aforementioned charges within 30 days of the demand therefore shall be deemed a violation of this chapter in accordance with the provisions of § 27A-19 of this chapter.
E. 
In addition to the above charges, should more than six false alarms occur at any one premises during any one alarm permit year, the Town Board of the Town of Tuxedo, following a hearing at which such owner or lessee may be present and present evidence, may revoke the alarm permit of the owner or lessee of such premises and order said owner or lessee to disconnect or dismantle or otherwise remove from the Police Department or Fire Department and/or ambulance service and/or central alarm station any police, fire or medical emergency alarm devices or system of devices causing such false alarms, at no expense to the Town, and any failure by such owner or lessee to comply with said order within 10 days of its issuance shall be deemed to be a violation of this chapter.
[1]
Editor's Note: Former § 27A-15, Power of licensing authority, was repealed 7-12-1999 by L.L. No. 7-1999.
All police, fire and medical emergency alarm permit fees and false alarm charges shall be collected by the Town Clerk. False fire alarm charges shall be remitted 75% to the Tuxedo Joint Fire District and 25% to the Town.
In order to implement the orderly institution of all the requirements of this chapter, the owners or lessees of any police, fire or medical emergency alarm device, devices or systems currently in use and required under the provisions of this chapter to obtain an alarm permit shall obtain an alarm permit no later than 60 days from the effective date of this chapter. Any police, fire or medical emergency alarm devices currently in use which would be prohibited under the provisions of this chapter must be removed no later than 120 days from the effective date of this chapter.
A. 
None of the provisions of this chapter shall apply to police, fire or medical emergency alarm devices installed in Town-owned buildings, motor vehicles or trailers or to smoke and/or heat detectors.
B. 
The Town of Tuxedo shall take every reasonable precaution that alarm signals received by the Town are given appropriate and immediate attention. Nevertheless, the Town shall not be liable for any defects in operation of any police, fire or medical emergency alarm devices for failure to respond appropriately on any alarm signal or for the transmission of alarm signals or messages. In the event that the Town orders the disconnection or removal of a police, fire or medical emergency alarm device or system of police, fire or medial emergency alarm devices pursuant to the provisions of § 68-14E of this chapter, the Town shall incur no liability therefrom.
Except as otherwise provided for herein, any person, business, firm, corporation or other entity who does not pay any fee or charge established in this chapter or who violates any provisions of this chapter shall be subject to a fine not in excess of $250 or imprisonment for 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.