For the purpose of this article, the following definitions shall
apply:
EXEMPTIONS UNDER THE EXCESSIVE EMERGENCY SERVICES RESPONSE ORDINANCE
The following response examples but not limited to, are exempt
under this article and cannot be considered or used when looking at
a property for compliance under this article:
A.
A crime in progress in which the safety of person(s) are at
risk.
B.
Any state or federal mandated reporting situations, which is
out of the reporting person's control.
D.
Domestic violence, family disputes or a person being on or near
the premises in violation of a protective order.
F.
Mental health incidents that require professional intervention
such as:
(1)
2-11 services or an emergency examination request.
(2)
Working with or under the care of a mental health professional.
G.
An incident or arrest for violation of trespass or an arrest
by warrant.
H.
Follow-up investigations for an existing response call shall
not count towards determining excessive responses for the given fiscal
year.
I.
The response had nothing to do with the property in question
other than being on the street in the area of the property.
FINE
The violation cost equal to the maximum amount as allowed
by State of Connecticut law under G.S. § 7-148(c)(10).
RESPONSIBLE PERSON
Is the person or persons who are in charge of the premises
or who organized the party. If the responsible person is a minor,
then the minor's parents or guardians will jointly and individually
be liable for the costs.
VERIFIED EXCESSIVE RESPONSE
A response by the police department, fire department or other
Town department to a particular address, and that response is used
as evidence to support the determination of a property in violation
status.
VERIFIED EXCESSIVE RESPONSES
As used in this section means and includes any verified response
and shall be limited in its application to the property owner or responsible
person.
When a property has been identified by the administrative services
section of the Southington Police Department as a verified excessive
response property the following process will occur:
A. Written notification to the property owner and/or responsible person
advising them of the violation status.
B. A meeting shall be set up within one week of notification to discuss
the violation status and allow for the property owner and/or responsible
person to present any information or evidence to mitigate their violation
status to the Police Department.
C. A report shall be submitted to the Town Manager for review and final status determination no later than 30 days after the meeting in §
326-5B.
D. Once the final status has been assigned the property owner, or responsible
person, shall be given notice of violation.
(1) The notice of violation shall state: "As a result of the verified
excessive call responses by the Town of Southington personnel to your
property or for which you are responsible during fiscal year (list
the year), you are receiving the below-listed fine for excessive use
of Town services."
(2) The notice may also contain such other information as deemed necessary
by the Town to accomplish the purposes of this section.
(3) Any further verified responses after the issuance of this notice, you will be charged for the cost of these responses, as determined by the Town of Southington/Southington Police Department and excluding any exemptions listed in the definition of "exemptions under the excessive emergency services response ordinance" in §
326-2.
The Southington Police Department, administrative services section,
shall forward all reports to the Town Manager who will then forward
the reports to the Town Council no later than three days after the
notice of violation has been issued.
Any person aggrieved by the final decision of verified excessive responses may file an appeal with the Southington Town Council by sending a letter requesting an appeal review. The letter must be received at the Town Manager's office within 10 business days after the notice of violation has been given to the property owner or responsible person as noted in §
326-5D(1) through (c). The Town Council will be the final decision-making authority for the Town of Southington in regard to verified excessive responses.
The Administrative services section of the Southington Police
Department shall keep records of responses to each property from the
records of the Town of Southington Police Department. The administrative
services section shall determine the verified responses and any additional
research needed.
A. When a property exceeds the 25 allowable verified responses, any
and all subsequent verified responses for the current fiscal year
shall generate a fine to the property owner, or the responsible person.
The fine will be the maximum amount as allowed by State of Connecticut
law, under G.S. § 7-148(c)(10).
B. The Southington Police Department will provide the enforcement action
of this article only after:
(1) The appeal process time limits have either expired; or
(2) An appeal hearing was conducted by the Town Council, and a violation(s)
was sustained for the property owner or responsible person.