[Adopted 4-5-1978 by Ord. No. C-97]
A.
The increase in the number of private alarm systems and users connected
into the Hoboken Police Department and the number of false alarms
of holdup, burglary and other similar types of alarms has resulted
in an increased demand upon the police personnel, as well as the present
facilities available to the Police Department.
B.
In addition to this, the increase in the number of private enterprises
engaged in the alarm business, each with its own system and equipment,
has resulted in conditions that, if not remedied, will lead to an
unnecessary drain of the manpower, time, facilities and finances of
the City of Hoboken and its Department of Public Safety, and if the
present system is not corrected and improved, there will follow a
deterioration of the quality of service to all persons subscribing
to alarm services.
C.
The purpose, therefore, of this article will be to provide for the
regulation and control of the installation, operation and maintenance
of private alarm systems within the City of Hoboken, so that the Department
of Public Safety may improve the quality of the alarm services rendered
to the public, maintaining them at a high level.
D.
Further, the private alarm enterprises retained by owners and occupants
of buildings and enterprises in the City of Hoboken will be able to
perform their services on a basis of standards and requirements that
are fairly, equitably and impartially applicable to all such subscribers.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
The approved console or annunciator control panel installed
in the Hoboken police headquarters, pursuant to the provisions of
this article, for the purpose of giving a visual, audio and printed
response to alarm systems installed in the City of Hoboken.
Any mechanism designed to actuate the alarm console.
The installation in one or more buildings of one or more
alarm devices or local alarms, for the express purpose of giving visual
or audible warning, or both of an emergency, such as a holdup, burglary,
intrusion, fire, smoke, flood or like perils.
An alarm device that employs an automatic dialing system
precoded to connect with a telephone in police headquarters, rather
than to the alarm console with an automatic cutoff.
The actuation of an alarm system by causes other than those
to which the alarm system was designed or intended to respond or activate.
The person or company who holds the license to install, operate
and maintain the alarm console, pursuant to the provisions of this
article.
Any mechanism that constitutes, in whole or in part, an alarm
system that is not designed to actuate the alarm console in police
headquarters, or is operated by a private company at a location other
than the property of the City of Hoboken.
A person in possession of premises in or upon which an alarm
system exists.
A person holding a permit to install, operate or maintain
an alarm system that employs an alarm device.
Any natural person, corporation, partnership, association
or any other organization.
A.
There shall be installed, operated and maintained an alarm console
at such place as the Department of Public Safety shall designate.
Any contract for the installation, operation and maintenance of the
alarm console shall be awarded in accordance with the Local Public
Contracts Law (N.J.S.A. 40A:11-1 et seq.).
B.
Said alarm console shall be of such design, capacity, size, power,
utility, efficiency and quality as the Department of Public Safety
shall specify.
C.
The alarm console shall be installed and maintained in good working
order at the sole expense of the licensee to whom the contract is
awarded.
D.
Any permittee shall be permitted to connect his alarm device to the
alarm console upon obtaining a permit from the Department of Public
Safety and payment of a connection fee and monthly service charge
to the licensee. A licensee who is also engaged in the business of
a permittee shall be required to pay the same monthly service charges
as other permittees.
E.
The licensee shall, in consideration of the exclusive license and
the privilege of installing, operating and maintaining the alarm console,
together with the use and occupancy of the designated area wherein
the alarm console was placed, compensate the City of Hoboken in the
following manner:
(1)
By making payment of the annual license fee in the amount specified
in § 66-45 of this article.
(2)
By permitting the connection to the alarm systems now or hereafter
installed in any public building owned or leased by the City of Hoboken
and/or the Board of Education of the City of Hoboken without payment
of any connection fee or monthly service charge.
F.
The licensee's obligation to maintain and operate the alarm
console shall continue until the expiration date or earlier termination
of the license, at which time, the licensee shall cooperate in the
transfer of the operation to the successor licensee to the end that
there shall be no interruption in the protection of the subscribers
or users of alarm devices.
A.
Immediately, upon the adoption of this article, the Department of
Public Safety shall issue written specifications covering the alarm
console hereinbefore referred to.
B.
The City Clerk shall cause to be published an advertisement inviting
sealed proposals for the installation, operation and maintenance of
the alarm console in accordance with the provisions of this article
and of said specifications.
C.
Said proposals shall be in the form prescribed by the City of Hoboken
and shall include, among other pertinent matters, the following:
(1)
A full description of the alarm console to be installed, sufficiently
detailed to enable the City of Hoboken to ascertain whether or not
it meets the specifications.
(2)
A covenant that, if awarded the contract, the licensee will complete
the installation and have it in working order on or before the date
stated in the specifications.
(3)
A certificate of consent of a surety company licensed to transact
business in the State of New Jersey, to issue a performance bond in
the amount of $10,000 to guarantee full and faithful performance of
the contract by the successful bidder during the term of the license,
including the licensee's indemnification agreement to the City.
(4)
A certificate by an insurance company licensed to transact business
in the State of New Jersey, agreeing to issue a comprehensive general
liability insurance policy, said policy to include contractual and
products' liability in the minimum amount of $100,000.
(5)
A statement of the maximum amount of monthly service charge to be
levied upon the permittees, exclusive of the fee paid to the New Jersey
Bell Telephone Company for direct telephone line service from alarm
device to alarm console.
D.
The contract and license will be awarded to the responsible bidder
whose bid is complete and who proposes to levy the least amount of
monthly service charge to permittees.
E.
The contract shall provide that the licensee shall remit, as that portion of the compensation referred to in § 66-3E(1) hereof, to the City of Hoboken annually, not later than the 90th day next following the close of the licensee's fiscal year, a sum equivalent to 15% of the gross revenues payable to the licensee by permittees in the City of Hoboken, said sum shall also include the amounts, if any, payable by the licensee for business conducted as a permittee. The contract shall further provide that the books and accounts of the licensee shall be open to inspection by the City Auditor or other duly authorized representative of the City for the purpose of verifying the amount due to the City under this provision of this article.
F.
The term of the license shall be for a period of five years; subject,
however, to earlier termination on 30 days' written notice by
the City in the event of default by the licensee.
G.
The licensee shall assume all liability and shall agree to indemnify
and save harmless the City of Hoboken, its officers, agents and employees
for or on account of any acts or omissions directly or indirectly
related to the installation, operation or maintenance of the alarm
console.
A.
Every person desiring to connect an alarm device to the alarm console
shall be required to obtain a permit from the Department of Public
Safety. Applications for permits shall be on forms prescribed by the
Department of Public Safety and shall be accompanied by:
(1)
Proof that the connection fee and the first month's service
charge have been paid to the licensee.
(2)
An agreement to pay the monthly service charge as a condition for
a continued connection of the alarm device to the alarm console.
(3)
An agreement to indemnify and hold the City of Hoboken, its agents
and employees harmless on account of any acts or omissions relating
to the operation of the alarm console and the connections of the permittee's
alarm device thereto.
(4)
A consent to the inspection of the premises where the alarm is located,
during working hours or other mutually agreeable times.
B.
Alarm devices connected to the alarm console shall be of a type approved
by the licensee.
C.
Upon determination by the Department of Public Safety that the application
complies with the requirements of this article, the Department of
Public Safety shall issue a permit for the appropriate connection.
No further application shall be required unless a material change
occurs in the information supplied to the Department of Public Safety.
In that event, it shall be the duty of both the owner and occupant
of the premises served by the alarm to file an amended registration
form with the Department of Public Safety, within seven days. There
shall be no charge for the filing of an amended registration form.
D.
If any permittee fails to pay the monthly service charge to the licensee
and remains in default of payment for more than 30 days, the licensee
may, on five days' written notice to such permittee, disconnect
the permittee's alarm device from the alarm console. The alarm
device shall not be reconnected, except upon payment of all arrearages,
as well as any other costs arising out of such reconnection.
E.
Any unauthorized equipment may be disconnected by the Department
of Public Safety, and any person installing or maintaining such equipment
may be prosecuted for violation of this article.
A.
No dial alarm shall be permitted unless it shall first have been:
(1)
Registered with the Police Department as hereinafter required.
(2)
Approved by the Department of Public Safety after proof has been
submitted that said dial alarm has been approved by the New Jersey
Bell Telephone Company and the performance of a test alarm conducted
by or on behalf of the applicant.
B.
Consent shall be given for the inspection of the premises where the
alarm is located during working hours or other mutually agreeable
times.
C.
All dial alarms shall be coded, as well, to notify a relative, neighbor
or other third party who shall be named in the registration required
by this article.
D.
All dial alarms shall be coded to dial a special number at Hoboken
police headquarters, when designated or provided by the Department
of Public Safety.
E.
All dial alarms shall be capable of being disconnected by the owner
or his designee to permit a call to the Police Department in the event
that a false alarm occurs.
F.
The owner of each dial alarm system shall pay to the City of Hoboken
an annual fee of $30 to cover the cost of registration and testing
and to amortize the cost of the special telephone line or lines which
may be required in police headquarters, along with ancillary tape
devices necessitated by these systems and additional records that
should be maintained.
G.
The owner of dial alarms shall be governed by the false alarm procedures
and penalties set forth in this article.
H.
If any person has a dial alarm in existence at the time of the passage
of this article, he shall have 60 days in which to reprogram the equipment
to comply with the terms of this article and in which to pay the annual
fee. Any person failing to comply herewith shall be liable to a penalty,
payable to the City of Hoboken, in the amount of $50.
I.
If any dial alarm shall hereafter be found to be dialing a telephone
number other than the number designated for dial alarms as specified
by the Department of Public Safety, the occupant of the building or
other persons in whose name the telephone is listed shall be sent
a notice, in writing, by the Department of Public Safety requiring
compliance with the terms of this article. If the occupant or telephone
subscriber shall fail within 30 days after receipt of said notice
to comply, he shall be liable to a penalty, payable to the City of
Hoboken, in the amount of $50.
J.
The taped contents of any recorded message from a dial alarm must
be intelligible and in a format approved by the Department of Public
Safety. No such message shall be transmitted more than three times
as a result of a single stimulus of the mechanism.
K.
The sensory mechanism of dial alarms shall be adjusted so as to suppress
false indications and not to be actuated by impulses due to pressure
changes in water pipes, short flashes of light, wind, noise, rattling
or vibration of doors or windows or other forces unrelated to general
alarms.
L.
All components of dial alarms shall be maintained by the owner, or
his designee, in good repair. When evidence exists that there has
been a failure to comply with the operation requirements of this article,
the Department of Public Safety is then authorized to demand that
such device be disconnected, until such time as compliance with such
requirements is reestablished.
A.
No person shall install, operate or maintain any alarm system unless
the alarm system has been registered with the Police Department as
follows:
(1)
The alarm system of each permittee shall be deemed registered at
such time as the registration form supplied by the Police Department
is completed.
(2)
An alarm system employing the dial alarm shall be deemed registered at such time as the registration form is completed, the annual dial alarm fee is remitted to the City of Hoboken and the system as been approved by the Department of Public Safety. See § 66-6.
(3)
A local alarm system shall be deemed registered when the occupant
of the building or store in which it is installed shall have filed
with the Department of Public Safety a registration form, which shall
include, among other data, the location of the device, the name of
the installer of said device, the type of device, provisions relating
to false alarms and testing procedures, a list of persons to be contacted
in the event of an alarm and any other information as may be required
by the Department of Public Safety.
B.
No further or renewal registration shall be required unless and until
there has occurred any material change in the information previously
submitted with respect to any alarm system. It shall be the duty of
the occupant of a building or store served by an alarm system, within
10 days after a change in information previously submitted to the
City of Hoboken shall have occurred, to file a supplemental or revised
registration containing accurate current information, with respect
to the data required by the registration form.
C.
No charge shall be made for the filing of any registration or any
amended, revised or supplemental registration.
A.
In the case of a false alarm, the Department of Public Safety shall
make an investigation and keep a record of said alarm on file. For
the first, second and third false alarm in any given calendar year,
a warning shall be issued by the Department of Public Safety. For
the fourth false alarm in the same calendar year, a penalty of $15
shall be paid to the City of Hoboken, and for the fifth and sixth
false alarms in the same calendar year, a fine of $25 shall be paid
to the City of Hoboken.
B.
After the sixth false alarm and if the investigation by the Department
of Public Safety discloses continued abuse of the privilege of connection
to the alarm console and a failure of the permittee to take remedial
steps to avoid false alarms, the City of Hoboken shall have the right
to require disconnection from the alarm console for a limited or permanent
time. No such permit shall be revoked or suspended without giving
the permittee an opportunity to show cause before the City Council
why such action should not be taken. Fines shall be forwarded to and
recorded by the Department of Public Safety, and said fine shall be
paid by check or money order payable to the City of Hoboken.
A.
The licensee and each permittee shall be responsible on a twenty-four-hour
per day basis for service to equipment owned by the licensee and the
permittee. Such service shall be provided within eight hours following
notification by the Department of Public Safety of any equipment malfunction.
B.
Notwithstanding the above, the Department of Public Safety shall
have the right to disconnect any audible alarm, if the owner or permittee
cannot be contacted or cannot respond to correct said audible alarm
within one hour.
Whenever, under the provisions of this article, the Chief of
Police or any authorized representative he may have designated is
empowered to make a decision with respect to the installation, operation
and maintenance of any alarm equipment, or with respect to the issuance
or denial of any application relating thereto, any person aggrieved
by such decision may, within 10 days following such decision, file
a written appeal therefrom with the City Clerk and with the Chief
of Police whereupon the City Council shall promptly conduct a hearing
and affirm, modify or reverse the decision appealed from.
The Department of Public Safety may from time to time promulgate
rules and regulations supplementing this article in order to provide
for recordkeeping and efficient management of said system; provided,
however, that said rules and regulations, or any revisions thereof,
shall not take effect until first approved by resolution of the City
Council.
[Amended 11-4-1987 by Ord. No. V-140]
A.
Any person convicted of a violation of this article shall, in addition
to the revocation of the license or permit of any such person, or
any person found guilty of failure to comply with any rules or regulations
duly promulgated pursuant thereto, may, after being found guilty of
such violation, be subject to a fine of not more than $1,000 or imprisonment
for a term not exceeding 90 days or both.
B.
Said maximum fine of $1,000 shall not apply in those instances in
which the amount of the maximum penalty has hereinbefore been limited
to a lesser amount by this article. In the case of a continuing violation,
the violator may be found guilty of as many separate offenses or counts
as the number of days he is proved to have continued in violation
of this article.
All alarms within the City of Hoboken shall be brought into
compliance with the requirements of this article within 90 days of
the effective date of this article.
