[Ord. No. 8-85, § 1]
The purpose of this chapter is to provide for the establishment and maintenance of an efficient, effective and uniform police and fire alarm system within the Borough of Morris Plains and to provide standards and regulations for alarm equipment, devices or systems to be installed or connected with or to the police panel alarm system at police headquarters in Morris Plains, or otherwise installed or connected so as to elicit a response by the Morris Plains Police Department or through the Police Department, the Fire Department or other municipal agency.
[Ord. No. 8-85, § 1]
The provisions of this chapter shall apply to any person who installs, connects, operates, maintains, services or owns any alarm equipment, device or system, including dial and local alarms, designed to summon the Police Department or through the Police Department, the Fire Department or other municipal agency to any location within the Borough of Morris Plains in response to any type of signal, alarm or preprogrammed, prerecorded message. The terms of this chapter shall in no way prohibit alarm companies from providing service by private sources to another office within or without the Borough so long as such activity is not connected to the alarm display panel at police headquarters, except, however, that any person having a premises protected by an alarm device shall still be responsible for the registration thereof in accordance with Section 2A4(e).
[Ord. No. 8-85, § 1; Ord. No. 13-96, § 1]
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
COMMON ANNUNCIATOR LICENSE
The license issued by the Borough Clerk to install and connect and to operate, control and maintain the police panel alarm system and to make all subscriber installations and connections thereto.
DIAL ALARM
Is defined as any type of equipment, device or system, preprogrammed or automatic, using telephone wires to transmit any alarm, message, signal or report directly through or to the Police Department switchboard for the purpose of summoning the Police Department or through the Police Department, the Fire Department or other municipal agency to any location within the Borough of Morris Plains in response thereto.
FALSE ALARM
Any alarm activated by inadvertence, negligence, unintentional or intentional act of someone other than an intruder or by fire and shall include, as well, alarms caused by malfunctioning of the alarm device or other relevant equipment, but shall not include alarms created by malfunctioning of the alarm display panel.
GOVERNING BODY
The Borough Council of the Borough of Morris Plains.
INSTALLER'S LICENSE
The license issued by the Chief of Police of Morris Plains permitting a person to engage in, manage, conduct or carry on the business of installing, leasing, connecting, maintaining, servicing, repairing, arranging, adjusting, replacing, moving and programming, in any building, place or premises in the Borough of Morris Plains, any alarm, equipment or device designed to summon the Police Department or, through the Police Department, the Fire Department or other municipal agency.
LOCAL ALARM
Is defined as any type of equipment, device or system which, when actuated, produces a signal or alarm not connected to the police panel alarm system, such as a store, burglar or intrusion alarm actuating a bell, horn or other sounding device, for the purpose of summoning the Police Department or through the Police Department, the Fire Department or other municipal agency to the location thereof and in response thereto.
PERMITTEE
Any person owning or leasing an alarm device or a local alarm within the scope of this chapter.
PERSON
Defined to include any natural person, partnership, firm, corporation or association.
POLICE PANEL ALARM SYSTEM
Defined as that system giving a visual or audio response, or both, on the control panel of the police console located within the confines of the Police Department of the Borough of Morris Plains, monitored by the Police Department and which includes the subscriber modules and control modules, the control cabinets, the emergency pack and all necessary and accessory equipment, wires and connections therein and thereto.
[Ord. No. 8-85, § 1; Ord. No. 13-96, § 2]
There is hereby established within the Borough of Morris Plains a police panel alarm system common annunciator license, hereinafter referred to as the "common annunciator license," which shall be granted by the governing body.
(a) 
The recipient or holder of said license, hereinafter referred to as the "common annunciator licensee," shall have exclusive use and control of the police panel alarm system except for the use by the Police Department of the Borough of Morris Plains and shall make, in accordance with the provisions of this chapter and any rules and regulations adopted hereunder, all installations and connections of such police alarm equipment, device or system to the police panel alarm system in police headquarters as may be inspected and approved by the Chief of Police of the Borough of Morris Plains and for which a permit shall have been issued.
(b) 
The common annunciator licensee shall be required to furnish, supply and provide all necessary materials, equipment and labor in accordance with plans and specifications prescribed by the Chief of Police and approved by the Borough Council for the completion of installation in police headquarters of a police alarm panel system which shall include for present and future subscribers installation and connections thereto, no less than 1,000 alarm controls, together with the necessary control cabinets and modules, junctions, boxes, alarm system panels, cables, necessary relays and standby power system and all other accessory equipment and connections related thereto, and said licensee shall be responsible for the maintenance, operation, installation and connection of and to the same, all at no cost to the Borough of Morris Plains. The common annunciator licensee shall test and verify the conformance of the panel being hooked up.
(c) 
The common annunciator licensee shall assume all liability and agree to indemnify and save harmless the Borough of Morris Plains, its agents, servants and employees, including the Police Department, for any acts in connection with the installation, connection, operation and maintenance of the police panel alarm system and the installation and connections thereto, and in conjunction therewith shall furnish annually to the Borough Clerk of the Borough of Morris Plains an insurance certificate indicating insurance coverage in amounts as specified by the Borough.
(d) 
The common annunciator licensee for the police panel alarm system shall be permitted to charge hookup fees and monthly subscriber fees as set forth in the Fee Schedule of the Borough of Morris Plains, Chapter 2, Section 2-46 of the Revised Ordinances. Any increase in either fee must be approved by the Borough Council. No hookup or monthly subscriber charges shall be charged to the municipality, including but not limited to the Borough of Morris Plains, the Morris Plains Board of Education, the Public Library, the Fire Department of Morris Plains and Watnong Park.
(e) 
Determination of licensee, qualifications.
(1) 
The Borough Council shall award the common annunciator license in accordance with the provisions of the Local Public Contracts Law, N.J.S.A. 40A:11-1 et seq.
(2) 
Said licensee shall, among other things, have adequate personnel available on a twenty-four-hour basis to service said equipment at no cost to the Borough within a reasonable response time.
(3) 
Said licensee shall meet any other requirements as may be specified by the Borough Council in accordance with the provisions of the Local Public Contracts Law, N.J.S.A. 40A:11-1 et seq.
(4) 
The common annunciator license may be rescinded by the Borough Council for failure to perform timely installation and/or maintenance of the police panel alarm system.
(f) 
Upon expiration or termination of the common annunciator license, the award of a new license shall be made in accordance with the provisions and procedures set forth in this chapter.
[Ord. No. 8-85, § 1]
(a) 
No person shall install, connect or maintain, or cause to be installed, connected or maintained, any police alarm equipment, device or system in or to the police headquarters in the Borough of Morris Plains for the purpose of transmitting a signal or alarm or reporting a signal, alarm or prerecorded message, to the attention of the Police Department for the purpose of summoning the Police Department or through the Police Department, the Fire Department or other municipal agency in response thereto, or obtaining some response thereto without first having made application and been issued a permit therefor in accordance with the provisions of this chapter and the rules, regulations and procedures hereinafter established and provided thereunder.
(b) 
No person shall install, connect, operate, maintain, service or own or cause to be installed or connected, operated, maintained, serviced or owned any dial alarm equipment, device or system designed to summon the Police Department of the Borough of Morris Plains or through the Police Department, the Fire Department or other municipal agency to any location within the Borough in response to any type of signal, alarm, prerecorded or preprogrammed messages, report or other transmission over the telephone wires without first having registered and obtained a permit therefor in accordance with the provisions of this chapter and the rules, regulations and procedures hereinafter established and provided thereunder except as otherwise provided for in Section 2A-2 of this chapter.
(c) 
No person shall install, connect or maintain or cause to be installed, connected and maintained any local alarm without first having registered the same with the Chief of Police, as hereinafter provided.
(d) 
This chapter shall also apply to all persons having installed, connected and maintained any police, burglar, fire, dial, telephone, local, automatic, emergency or other alarm equipment, device or system covered or included in this chapter prior to the effective date hereof.
[Ord. No. 8-85, § 1; Ord. No. 27-89, § 1]
(a) 
All applications for the issuance of a permit required under this chapter shall be made in writing to the Chief of Police on a form provided therefor and shall be accompanied by the application and processing fee set forth in the Fee Schedule of the Borough of Morris Plains, Chapter 2, Section 2-46.
(b) 
Said application, among other information which may from time to time be required or prescribed by the Chief of Police, shall contain the name, address and telephone number of the applicant, the name, address and telephone number of each of the premises and customers or persons to be served by the proposed installation or connection, location of the device, alarm equipment or system, the name of the installer, the type of device, alarm equipment or system provisions relating to false alarms and testing procedures and a list of persons to be contacted in the event of an alarm.
(c) 
Upon application for a permit, the Chief of Police shall cause an investigation and records to be made and, thereafter, provided that the applicant has complied with all of the terms of this chapter and the rules and regulations made, promulgated and adopted pursuant thereto, shall issue the permit.
No permit shall be granted except upon the following terms and conditions:
(a) 
The applicant shall furnish and complete all information required relating to the application and the alarm, equipment, device or system to be installed or connected and data relating to prevention of false alarms and testing procedures.
(b) 
No person other than the applicant and his agent and employees shall exercise the privileges under the permit.
(c) 
The applicant shall maintain his equipment in good condition and repair.
(d) 
No permit shall be transferred or assigned in any manner.
(e) 
The permit is accepted upon the express condition that the permittee shall indemnify and hold the Borough of Morris Plains harmless from and on account of any and all damages arising out of the activities of the permittee, its alarm contractor or the common annunciator licensee of the Borough of Morris Plains.
(f) 
Each separate building, store, premise, place or location shall require a separate permit and a separate installation or connection to the police panel alarm system.
(g) 
The applicant or permittee, upon acceptance of such permit, thereby agrees to hold and save harmless the Borough of Morris Plains, its agents or employees from any liability whatsoever in connection with any such alarm, equipment, device or system, or the installation, operation and maintenance of the same.
[Ord. No. 8-85, § 1]
(a) 
Any permit issued under the provisions of this chapter may be suspended or revoked by the Chief of Police for any violation of, or failure to comply with, the provisions of this chapter or any rule or regulation promulgated by the Chief of Police and approved by the Borough Council pursuant to this chapter, including the following:
(1) 
The permittee, his agent or employee willfully failed to and did not comply with a request by a member of the Police Department to proceed immediately to the location of the permittee's alarm and render necessary services.
(2) 
The permittee has breached the terms and conditions of the permit.
(b) 
No permit shall be revoked or suspended without giving the permittee 15 days' notice, in writing, of such action and an opportunity to show cause before the Chief of Police why such action should not be taken. Any person aggrieved by the action or determination of the Chief of Police in the denial of a permit or in the suspension or revocation of any permit provided for in this chapter may appeal to the Borough Council.
[Ord. No. 8-85, § 1]
(a) 
Those persons, firms or corporations presently having a dial alarm system shall be permitted to maintain the connection until two years following adoption of this chapter, after which date failure to disconnect from any department or departments of the Borough of Morris Plains shall be deemed a violation of this chapter.
(b) 
No permit shall be issued for the installation, connection, operation, maintenance, service or ownership of any dial alarm, equipment or device covered by the terms of this chapter unless said device complies with all Bell Telephone Company standards and the permittee complies with the provisions of this chapter and the rules and regulations promulgated and adopted thereunder.
[Ord. No. 8-85, § 1; Ord. No. 13-96, § 3]
(a) 
All local devices, alarms, equipment or systems shall be registered with the Chief of Police, and all information required with respect to such registration shall be provided and kept current by the applicant or registrant and no fee shall be required therefor.
(b) 
All alarms installed under this chapter shall have an automatic cutoff of not more than 15 minutes.
[Ord. No. 48-85, § 1]
(a) 
The Borough of Morris Plains shall be under no duty or obligation to any permittee hereunder, the common annunciator licensee or any other licensee hereunder for any of the police panel alarm system equipment or any other equipment, device or system connected thereto, the same being maintained at will and subject to termination at any time by cancellation of the system by resolution duly adopted by the Borough Council. However, the common annunciator license herein shall not be revoked except upon good cause by the Borough Council, and any individual permit or license issued hereunder may be revoked at any time by the Chief of Police as hereinabove provided.
(b) 
Notwithstanding payment of any fees and/or the receiving or issuance of any permit or registrations as herein required, the Police Department of the Borough of Morris Plains shall not be under any obligation whatsoever concerning the installation or connection or adequacy, operation or maintenance of the alarm, equipment, device or system so installed or connected, and the Borough of Morris Plains and its authorized agents hereby assume no liability whatsoever for any failure of such alarm, equipment, device or system, failure to respond to any such alarm or transmittals or for any act of omission or commission as a result of any such alarm equipment, device or system, and the obligation for maintenance and upkeep of such alarm equipment, device and system.
For the equipment, device and systems installed or connected within the Borough of Morris Plains, the permittee shall pay the permit fee hereinbefore provided and such connection and installation charges and monthly charges by the common annunciator licensee also hereinabove provided for in the event of installation and connection to the police panel alarm system.
[Ord. No. 8-85, § 1; Ord. No. 27-89, § 2; Ord. No. 13-96, § 4]
(a) 
In the case of a false alarm, any person having knowledge thereof shall immediately notify the Police Department in a manner to be prescribed by rules and regulations hereinafter made and provided by the Police Department.
(b) 
The penalties for such false alarms shall be those set forth in the Fee Schedule of the Borough of Morris Plains, Chapter 2, Section 2-46.
(c) 
Where the investigation of the Police Department discloses continued abuse of the privilege of connection to the police panel alarm system and a disregard of the permittee for taking remedial steps to avoid false alarms, the Chief of Police reserves the right to revoke or suspend the permit or registration and require disconnection from the police panel alarm system for a limited or permanent time, provided that no such permit or registration shall be revoked or suspended and no such disconnection shall take place without giving the permittee an opportunity to show cause before the Chief of Police why such action should not be taken.
(d) 
The permittee shall take all necessary steps to immediately ascertain the cause of any false alarm and shall alleviate the problem within 72 hours or show cause before the Chief of Police why the malfunction cannot be remedied within that time period. The Chief shall have the discretion to grant an additional period of time within which to make the repair.
[Ord. No. 8-85, § 1]
Any unauthorized equipment may be disconnected by the Chief of Police or his designated representative for noncompliance with this chapter, and any person installing or maintaining unauthorized equipment shall be prosecuted for violation of this chapter, and each and every day said equipment is in operation shall be considered a separate violation. Any permittee shall, by acceptance of the permit, be deemed to have consented to inspection of the premises on which said alarm devices are installed at reasonable hours by the Chief of Police or his designated representative.
[Ord. No. 8-85, § 1]
(a) 
The Chief of Police may make, prescribe and promulgate supplementary rules and regulations for the installation and connection of alarm equipment, devices or systems, covered by the terms of this chapter, and for the performance, maintenance and operation of the same as may be reasonably necessary to fulfill the purposes of this chapter.
(b) 
Such rules and regulations shall be made, prescribed and promulgated to sufficiently promote and ensure an effective and uniform police and fire alarm system, and proper installation and connection; provide for maintenance of records and efficient management of the alarm system, the speedy and accurate operation and reporting of alarms, minimizing mechanical failure, minimizing false alarms and the consequential dangers of the same to citizens of the Borough of Morris Plains; the proper monitoring of alarms and prompt response to such alarms, the prevention of jamming of the switchboard and the creation of nuisances or other interference or hindrance with the proper operation of duties of the Police Department and dispatchers.
(c) 
Said rules and regulations and all changes thereof shall be subject to the approval of the Borough Council.
(d) 
Said rules and regulations shall be in writing and shall be given to each permittee or licensee at the time of the application for or issuance of the permit or license or at the time of promulgation or amendment of such rules and regulations.
[Ord. No. 8-85, § 1]
Any person, firm or corporation found guilty in the Municipal Court of the Borough of Morris Plains for violation of the terms of this chapter shall be subject to a fine of not more than $500 or imprisonment for a period not exceeding 90 days, or both.