[HISTORY: Adopted by the Village Board of the Village of
Winneconne as Title 5, Ch. 4, of the 2012 compilation of ordinances,
as amended through 5-22-2013.
Subsequent amendments noted where applicable.]
This chapter shall be known as the "Village of Winneconne Alarm
Systems Ordinance."
The purpose of this chapter is to provide minimum standards
and regulations applicable to burglar, fire and holdup alarm systems,
alarm business and alarm users. Both society in general and public
safety in particular will be aided by providing a useful and usable
system of private security which properly balances quick response
by law enforcement with minimization of law enforcement time spent
on alarms which are false or otherwise not the intended function of
private security systems.
Within this chapter, the following terms, phrases and words
and their derivations have the meaning given herein.
Any business in which the owners or employees engage in the
activity of altering, installing, leasing, maintaining, repairing,
replacing, selling or servicing alarm systems.
An assembly of equipment and devices or single device such
as a solid state unit which plugs directly into 110-volt AC line or
otherwise receives electrical energy arranged to signal the presence
of a hazard requiring urgent attention and to which the Police or
Fire Department is expected to respond. In this chapter, the term
"alarm system" shall include the terms "automatic holdup alarm system,"
"burglar alarm system," and "manual holdup alarm system" as those
terms are hereinafter defined, and "fire alarm systems" which monitor
temperature, humidity or any other condition directly related to the
detection of fire. Excluded from this definition and from the coverage
of this chapter are alarm systems used to alert or signal persons
within the premises in which the alarm system is located of an attempted,
unauthorized intrusion or holdup attempt or fire.[1]
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. II)]
A telephone answering service providing among its services
the service of receiving on a continuous basis through trained employees
emergency signals from alarm systems, and thereafter immediately relaying
the message by live voice to the dispatch center of the Police Department
or Winneconne Poygan Fire District.
An alarm system which automatically sends over regular telephone
lines by direct connection or otherwise a prerecorded voice message
or coded signal indicating the existence of the emergency situation
that the alarm system is designed to detect.
An alarm system in which the signal transmission is initiated
by the action of the robber.
An alarm system which signals an entry or attempted entry
into the area protected by the system.
An office to which remote alarm and supervisory signaling
devices are connected, where operators supervise the circuits.
An alarm system which has the capability of transmitting
system signals to the Police or Fire Department.
The activation of an alarm system through mechanical failure,
malfunction, improper installation or the negligence of the owner
or lessee of an alarm system or of his employees or agents or other
undetermined cause. False alarm does not include alarms caused by
tornadoes or other violent climatic conditions.
To connect an alarm system to a voice grade telephone line,
either directly or through a mechanical device that utilizes a standard
telephone, for the purpose of using the telephone line to transmit
an emergency message upon the activation of the alarm system.
An alarm system in which the signal transmission is initiated
by the direct action of the person attacked or by an observer thereof.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. II)]
A telephone line leading directly into the dispatch center
of the Police Department or Fire District that is for the purpose
of handling emergency 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 or numbers in sequence therewith.
A person who buys or leases or otherwise obtains an alarm
system and thereafter contracts with or hires an alarm business to
monitor and/or service the alarm system.
The Chief of Police and Fire Chief shall promulgate such rules
as may be necessary for the implementation of this chapter. Such rules
shall require the approval of the Village Board and shall be open
to inspection by the public.
No person shall interconnect any automatic dialing device to
a Police Department or Fire District primary trunk line. No person
shall permit such devices, which were installed prior to the effective
date of this chapter, to remain interconnected from any property owned
or controlled by that person. Such devices may be connected to a central
station or an answering service. Relaying messages so received to
the Police Department or Fire District shall only be done person to
person on the telephone line.
A.
Direct connections. Direct connections to the Police Department or
Fire District are prohibited, but may be authorized pursuant to the
direct connection policies of each Department, a copy of which is
on file with the Chief of Police and Fire Chief.
B.
Emergency contact persons. The alarm user shall provide the Police
Department and Fire District with the names and telephone numbers
of at least two persons who can be reached at any time, day or night,
who are authorized to respond to an emergency signal transmitted by
the automatic alarm system or device, and who are trained in the operation
or functioning of the alarm system, and who can open the premises
wherein the alarm system is installed. It shall be a violation of
this section if any of these persons cannot be contacted, or if they
refuse to cooperate with and respond at the request of Fire District
and Police Department officials; said person(s) may be subject to
forfeiture under the penalty section of this chapter.
A.
No alarm business or alarm system designed to transmit emergency
messages to the Police Department or Fire District shall be tested
or demonstrated without prior notification and approval of the Police
Department or Fire District dispatcher. Alarm businesses or alarm
system owners or lessors will be advised on proper test procedure.
B.
No alarm system relayed through intermediate services to the Police
Department or Fire District will be tested to determine the Police
Department's or Fire District's response without first notifying the
appropriate authority. However, the Police Department or Fire District
may inspect or test on-site alarm systems authorized under this chapter.
C.
Alarm systems shall be in compliance with all pertinent response
policies of the Police Department or Fire District.
When the service provided by an alarm business to its subscribers
is disrupted for any reason by the alarm business or the alarm business
becomes aware of such disruption, it shall promptly notify its subscribers
by telephone that protection is no longer being provided. If, however,
the alarm business has written instructions from its subscriber not
to make such notification by telephone during certain hours, the alarm
business may comply with such instructions.
A.
Generally.
(1)
Each false alarm requires response of public safety personnel, involves
unnecessary expense to the Village, increases the risk of injury to
persons or damage to property and dilutes the overall public safety
protection to the Village. Such false alarms constitute a public nuisance
and must be abated.
(2)
The user of any private alarm system which, upon activation, elicits
a response from the Police Department or Winneconne Poygan Fire District,
shall be subject to a fee for each false alarm in the calendar year
after the second. A "false alarm" shall be defined as an alarm which
was discharged falsely, accidentally, through mechanical failure,
malfunction, improper installation, lack of maintenance, or by negligence
of the owner or lessee of the alarm system or the owner's employees
or agents.
B.
Exceptions.
(1)
Alarms that occur during electrical storms, tornadoes, blizzards,
or other natural disasters or acts of God.
(2)
Disruption of the telephone circuits beyond the control of the alarm
company and/or the alarm user.
(3)
Electrical power or disruption or failure not caused by the user.
(4)
Alarms caused by failure of equipment at the Winnebago County Communications
Center (911).
C.
False alarms; administrative charges.
(1)
Any person, business, corporation or other entity having permissible
alarm system with alarm device(s) at one or more locations in accordance
with this chapter shall pay to the Departments a charge for false
alarms responded to by the Police Department or Fire District according
to the fee as established by the Village Board for each calendar year
for each location connected, separate accounts to be kept for false
alarms as to criminal activity and false alarms for fire or other
emergencies. The cost of false alarms outside of Village limits shall
be billed by the Village as a service to the Departments to the responsible
party(s).
(2)
Those subject to fees for false alarms shall be notified, in writing,
of such fees. Failure to pay the fee within 30 days of invoice shall
be grounds to subject the user to the penalties contained within the
current Fee Schedule[1] in addition to the false alarm fees prescribed. In addition
to any other methods provided by law, false alarm fees shall be allocated
to the property served as a special charge under the Wisconsin Statutes.
[1]
Editor's Note: The Fee Schedule is on file in the Village
office.
(3)
This subsection is intended to impose a strict liability on the person, business, corporation or other entity responsible for alarm connection to either the police alarm panel or to an alarm receiving firm to which the Police Department or Fire District have responded and shall be applied regardless of the cause of the false alarm excepting those alarms excluded from the definition of "false alarm." Failure to pay such administrative charge(s) in and of itself shall constitute a violation of this section, and such charge(s) shall be collectible as a forfeiture upon prosecution and conviction thereof, together with an additional forfeiture(s) which may be imposed under the next Subsection D hereof for violation of this section for allowing or maintaining condition(s) or act(s) violative of the intent of this section of eliminating and minimizing the occurrence of false alarms, together with costs of prosecution.
(4)
The fee shall be imposed whether the Police Department or Fire District
received the alarm by direct connection or through an intermediary,
such as an answering service or modified central station. If the Fire
Chief or Police Chief are notified, in writing, prior to the day of
installation of a new alarm system, the fee imposed by this section
shall be waived for a ninety-day period beginning with the date of
the installation.
D.
Other violations. Any person, corporation or other entity violating this chapter in any manner, other than for collection of unpaid administrative charges treated in the preceding Subsection C of this section, shall be subject to forfeiture as provided in § 1-3, General penalty, of this Code. When any premises located in the Village is owned, leased or occupied by two or more persons as joint tenants, tenants in common, joint lessees, or in any other manner, each person shall see that the provisions of this chapter are complied with, and each person may be subjected to a penalty on violation of this section.
E.
Default of payment for forfeiture and/or costs. On default of payment of forfeiture and/or costs under the immediately preceding Subsection C and/or D, such person or responsible officer of the violating corporation or other entity shall be confined in the County Jail until the same be paid but not to exceed a length of time specified by the court, which length of time shall not exceed six months. Upon nonpayment of the fee, the amount due may be placed on the tax roll as a special charge pursuant to § 66.0627, Wis. Stats.
The Village of Winneconne or the Winneconne Poygan Fire District
shall be under no duty or obligation to a subscriber or to any other
person concerning any provision of this chapter, including, but not
limited to, any defects in an alarm system or any delays in transmission
or response to any alarm; however, this in no way shall be construed
that it is not the proper function of law enforcement to respond to
alarms.
It shall be unlawful for any persons to give or cause to be
given a false alarm, or to pull the lever of any signal box, except
in the case of fire, or tamper, meddle or interfere in any way with
said boxes, or any of the wires, or supports there connected with
any part of the fire/police alarm system, or to make any connection
or communication therewith so as to interrupt or interfere with the
proper working of said system or injure or destroy machinery or fixtures
connected to said system.
