[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.
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; 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; 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.
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]
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.