[R.O. 2007 § 630.010; CC 1979 § 2.7-1; Ord. No. 951 § 1, 11-29-1984; Ord. No. 3359 § 5, 12-14-2000]
For the purposes of this Chapter, the following terms, phrases, words, and their derivations shall have the meanings given herein. Where not inconsistent with the text, words used in the present tense include the future tense, words used in the plural number include the singular number, and words used in the singular number include the plural number. The word "shall" is always mandatory and not merely directory.
ALARM AGENT
Any person who is employed by an alarm business, either directly or indirectly, whose duties include any of the following: Selling, maintaining, leasing, servicing, repairing, altering, replacing, moving or installing on or in any building, structure or facility any alarm system. The provisions of this Section do not include a person who engages in the manufacture or sale of an alarm system from a fixed location and who neither visits the location where the alarm system is to be installed nor designs the scheme for physical location and installation of the alarm system in a specific location.
ALARM BUSINESS
Includes any business engaged in any of the activities of selling, installing, servicing, altering, leasing, repairing, maintaining, replacing, moving, monitoring, responding to a burglar or holdup alarm system, or causing any of these activities to take place.
ALARM IDENTIFICATION NUMBER
A number issued to the subscriber and alarm monitoring agent by the Police Department for the purpose of identifying the alarm system for dispatching and record keeping purposes.
ALARM SUBSCRIBER
Any person or business who/which leases, contracts for, buys or otherwise obtains and operates an alarm system for the purpose of obtaining a response to the alarm from the Police and on whose premises an alarm system is maintained, excluding audible alarms on motor vehicles.
ALARM SYSTEM
Any mechanical or electrical device, by whatever name it is known and/or identified by the manufacturer or seller, which is designed or used for the detection of burglary or attempted burglary, or for alerting others of the commission of a robbery or attempted robbery within a building structure or facility, or both, and which emits a sound or transmits a signal or message when activated for the purpose of deterring the intruder or notifying another person of the happening, or both.
AUTOMATIC DIALING DEVICE
Refers to an alarm system which automatically sends over the telephone switching network a pre-recorded voice message or coded signal indicating existence of an unlawful act to which a Police response is requested.
CENTRAL STATION SYSTEM
A system in which the operation of electrical protection circuits and devices are signaled to, recorded in, maintained and supervised from a central station having trained operators and company personnel in attendance at all times.
CITY
The City of St. Peters, Missouri.
DAY
Calendar day.
DIRECT CONNECT
Any alarm system which terminates within the Police Department.
FALSE ALARM
The activation of an alarm system through mechanical failure, malfunction, improper installation, or through the negligence of or misuse by the owner, lessee, employee or agent, whereby the Police are summoned when there is no incident occurring or having occurred as reported by the alarm. Not included in the above definition are alarms obviously attributable to cyclones, tornadoes, earthquakes, and comparable violent abnormal conditions, alarms triggered as a by-product of vandalism or destruction of property and alarms attributable to telephone line problems; the burden of proof of such problems being on the alarm subscriber and/or alarm monitor.
LICENSE
Refers to the license which is issued by the City of St. Peters to an entity to do business in this City as an alarm company.
LOCAL ALARM SYSTEM
Refers to a signalling device which when activated causes an audible and/or visual signalling device to be activated in or on the premises within which the system is installed, which is intended to ultimately cause the Police to respond to the premises.
PERSON
An individual, firm, partnership, association, corporation, company or organization of any kind.
PRIMARY TRUNKLINE
A telephone line leading into the Police Department for the purpose of handling calls on a person-to-person basis, and which is identified as such by a specific number included among the emergency numbers listed in the telephone directory issued by the telephone company.
TELEPHONE COMPANY
The utility that furnishes telephone service to the St. Peters area.
[R.O. 2007 § 630.020; CC 1979 § 2.7-2; Ord. No. 951 § 2, 11-29-1984; Ord. No. 3359 § 5, 12-14-2000]
Within ninety (90) days after the effective date of this Chapter, November 29, 1984, no person shall engage in, conduct or carry on an alarm business without first applying for and receiving an alarm business license from the City Clerk as provided for in this Chapter.
[R.O. 2007 § 630.025; Ord. No. 3359 § 5, 12-14-2000]
The provisions of Article I of Chapter 605 of the City Code shall apply to this Chapter and any license issued hereunder including, but not limited to, the provisions which address suspension, revocation, denial or renewal of licenses and delinquent or late penalty fees. However, the specific provisions of this Chapter shall control and take precedence over any provision of Article I of Chapter 605 to the contrary. Any provision of this Chapter which addresses the same topic as Article I of Chapter 605 but which is not in conflict with the provisions of Article I of Chapter 605 shall be read in conjunction with and as an alternative to the provisions of Article I of Chapter 605.
[R.O. 2007 § 630.030; CC 1979 § 2.7-3; Ord. No. 951 § 3, 11-29-1984; Ord. No. 3359 § 5, 12-14-2000]
Application for the license required herein shall be made in writing to the City Clerk and shall describe in detail the location and the nature of the business to be conducted.
[R.O. 2007 § 630.040; CC 1979 § 2.7-4; Ord. No. 951 § 4, 11-29-1984; Ord. No. 3359 § 5, 12-14-2000]
A. 
Within ninety (90) days of the effective date of this Chapter, any person engaging in the alarm business in the City is responsible for issuing each alarm agent a valid identification card, as hereinafter set forth, and each alarm agent is required to maintain on his/her person a valid identification card while acting within the scope of his/her employment and to produce the identification card upon request by any customer, prospective customer, or lawful authority.
B. 
The alarm agent identification card must contain as a minimum the following information:
1. 
Full front photograph head size not less than one (1) inch vertical.
2. 
Name, height, weight, date of birth.
3. 
Name of employing company.
4. 
Capacity with company (salesman, repairman, installer).
5. 
Signature of authorizing individual of company.
6. 
Signature of holder.
C. 
An alarm agent identification card shall be valid for a period of two (2) years from date of issue or until agent terminates employment with issuing company if less than two (2) years from date of issue.
[R.O. 2007 § 630.050; CC 1979 § 2.7-5; Ord. No. 951 § 5, 11-29-1984; Ord. No. 3359 § 5, 12-14-2000]
No person shall use or operate, attempt to use or operate, or cause to be used or operated, or arrange, adjust, program or otherwise provide or install any device or combination of devices that will upon activation, either mechanically, electronically or by other means, initiate an intrastate call and deliver a recorded message to any telephone number assigned to any subscriber by a public telephone company without the prior written consent of such subscriber. The term "telephone number" includes any additional numbers assigned by a public utility company engaged in the business of providing communications services and facilities to be used by means of a rotary or other system to connect with the subscriber to such primary number when the primary number is in use.
[R.O. 2007 § 630.060; CC 1979 § 2.7-6; Ord. No. 951 § 6, 11-29-1984; Ord. No. 3359 § 5, 12-14-2000]
A. 
All alarm soundings reported to the Police Department either directly or by relay from an alarm company must do so in the manner prescribed by the Chief of Police.
B. 
Prior to reporting any alarms to the Police, an alarm identification number must be obtained by the subscriber from the St. Peters Police Department.
C. 
Application for the alarm identification number by the alarm subscriber shall be made to the Chief of Police and shall provide the following information:
1. 
Name and address of alarm subscriber.
2. 
Name and address of applicant.
3. 
Telephone number of protected premises.
4. 
Type of business.
5. 
Name and address of person or firm which monitors or receives alarm signals.
6. 
Name, address and telephone number of a minimum of two (2) individuals that possess keys to protected premises and will respond to same when summoned by the Police.
D. 
Persons reporting alarm soundings (excluding audible alarms) must provide as a minimum the following information:
1. 
Name of company and individual reporting the alarm.
2. 
Type of alarm sounding.
3. 
Location.
4. 
Name of individual or business.
5. 
Identification number.
6. 
Any additional information pertinent to the incident.
E. 
The information contained in the application for the alarm identification number shall be securely maintained and restricted to use in the implementation and enforcement of this Chapter.
[R.O. 2007 § 630.070; CC 1979 § 2.7-7; Ord. No. 951 § 7, 11-29-1984; Ord. No. 3359 § 5, 12-14-2000]
All bells, sirens or other noise sources that sound in the event of an alarm are, if residential, to cut off automatically within fifteen (15) minutes after the alarm has been activated or, if commercial, to cut off automatically within thirty (30) minutes after the alarm has been activated.
[R.O. 2007 § 630.080; CC 1979 § 2.7-8; Ord. No. 951 § 8, 11-29-1984; Ord. No. 1674 § 1, 9-27-1990; Ord. No. 3359 § 5, 12-14-2000]
A. 
The following limits are hereby established:
1. 
Upon receipt of the first false alarm within a calendar year, a warning notice shall be issued by the department to the subscriber and the alarm business monitoring the system, if any.
2. 
Upon receipt of the second additional false alarm within the same calendar year, a service fee of fifty dollars ($50.00) will be assessed to the alarm subscriber.
3. 
Upon receipt of the third additional false alarm and all alarms thereafter within the same calendar year, a service fee of one hundred dollars ($100.00) per false alarm will be assessed to the alarm subscriber.
4. 
False alarm counts shall revert to zero (0) on the first day of each year.
5. 
For the purpose of this Section, the schedule of false alarms shall become effective thirty (30) days after installation of a new alarm system. During this thirty (30) day grace period, false alarms will not be chargeable under this Chapter.
[R.O. 2007 § 630.090; CC 1979 § 2.7-10; Ord. No. 951 § 10, 11-29-1984; Ord. No. 3359 § 5, 12-14-2000]
No alarm agent or person engaging in the alarm business can sell, service or install any alarm system without first furnishing the alarm subscriber or prospective alarm subscriber with a written offer in which each opening item or area to be protected is specifically identified and the device to be used is fully identified and described. All such information shall be on a form that provides a place for the alarm subscriber to affix his/her signature and the date preceded by the statement: "I (space to print or type the customer's name) the undersigned, have read this offer and fully understand what protection this alarm will provide the specific areas, openings and items it will protect. I have also been made aware that written instructions on how to operate this alarm system will be furnished as well as verbal instructions upon completion of the installation of the alarm systems and that I must possess an alarm identifier number to operate this alarm and that misuse of this alarm can result in loss of the privilege to operate and thus deny my use of this alarm system."
[R.O. 2007 § 630.100; CC 1979 § 2.7-11; Ord. No. 951 § 11, 11-29-1984; Ord. No. 3359 § 5, 12-14-2000]
It shall be unlawful for any person engaging in the alarm business or alarm agent to adjust, alter, fix or change any alarm system or part thereof in any manner so that such adjustment, change or alteration will make that system or part thereof insensitive to any intrusion or action for which it was originally intended without full disclosure in writing of same to the alarm subscriber.