The purpose of this article is to encourage alarm users and
alarm companies to properly use and maintain the operational effectiveness
of alarm systems in order to improve the reliability of alarm systems
and reduce or eliminate false alarms.
(Ordinance 2024-O-012 adopted 4/24/2024)
For the purpose of this article, all words shall have the normal
and ordinary meaning, and the following definitions shall apply unless
the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning:
The chief of police or his/her designated representative
who shall administer, control, and review false alarm reduction efforts
and administer the provisions of this article.
A notification intended to summon the police, which is designed
either to be initiated purposely by a person or by an alarm system
that responds to a stimulus characteristic of unauthorized intrusion.
(Recorded messages to any police station are prohibited herein.)
The specific property served by an alarm system that is under
the control of one owner, tenant or lessor. Each unit, if served by
a separate alarm system in a multi-unit office building or apartment
complex, shall be considered a separate alarm site.
Any person who or entity that sells, installs, services,
monitors, or responds to any alarm systems.
Any device connected to an alarm system which automatically
sends a prerecorded message or coded signal indicating the activation
of the alarm system to a predetermined location.
Herein referred to as "system" or "alarm" unless otherwise
indicated.
Any electrical, mechanical, or electronic device or assembly
of equipment that emits, transmits, or relays a signal intended to
summon, or that would reasonably be expected to summon, by direct
or indirect means, the aid of the police services of the city. Such
systems are "categorized" as to the following types or combinations
of types:
For purposes of this article, the following types of alarm systems
are exempted:
An alarm system installed in a motor vehicle, unless the vehicle
is permanently located at a site;
An alarm system designed to alert only the inhabitants of the
premises which does not have a local alarm;
An alarm system installed upon premises occupied by the United
States government or the state government when they occupy property
owned by the state;
An alarm system designed solely to detect or give notice of
fire or smoke; and
Any communications device not designed solely for alarm notification.
The chief of police for the city, his assistant chief or
any representative designated by departmental operational order as
alarm administrator.
The City of Liberty Hill, Texas.
To render an alarm disabled so as to prevent any direct or
indirect notification to the police department by a silent or local
alarm.
An invalid permit due to an expiration of the term of the
permit period defined herein.
An alarm notification to the police department when the responding
officer or a subsequent investigation finds no evidence of unauthorized
intrusion, an attempted unauthorized intrusion, robbery, attempted
robbery, or other illegal activity for which the alarm was intended
to report.
An alarm system that emits a signal at an alarm site that
is audible or visible from the exterior of a structure.
A permit issued to the owner or property manager of a residential
apartment complex which has an alarm system operated in one or more
of the individual residential units. The fees for a master alarm permit
shall be the same as those for an alarm permit.
An individual, corporation, partnership, association, organization,
or any legal entity.
Any person who reports the activation of an alarm to the
police department for compensation.
Herein referred to as "system" or "alarm" unless otherwise
indicated. Any electrical, mechanical, or electronic device or assembly
of equipment that emits, transmits, or relays a signal intended to
summon, or that would reasonably be expected to summon, by direct
or indirect means, the aid of the police services of the city in response
to a robbery. Such systems are "categorized" as to the following types
or combinations of types:
(Ordinance 2024-O-012 adopted 4/24/2024)
(a)
A person must obtain a permit, as is more thoroughly set out
in division 2, issued by the police chief before the person operates
an alarm system.
(b)
A person must obtain a separate permit for each alarm site.
(Ordinance 2024-O-012 adopted 4/24/2024)
(a)
A permit holder shall:
(1)
Maintain the premises containing an alarm system in a manner
that ensures proper operation of the alarm system;
(2)
Maintain the alarm system in a manner that will minimize false
alarm notifications;
(3)
Respond or cause a representative to respond within one hour
when notified by the city to repair or inactivate a malfunctioning
alarm system, to provide access to the premises, or to provide security
for the premises;
(4)
Not manually activate an alarm system for any reason other than
occurrence of an event that the alarm system was intended to report;
(5)
Utilize relaying intermediaries for residential alarm systems
of all classification types; and
(6)
Utilize relaying intermediaries for commercial alarm systems
of all classification types.
(b)
A permit holder of a local alarm shall adjust the mechanism
or cause the mechanism to be adjusted so that an alarm signal will
sound for no longer than 15 minutes after being activated.
(c)
A permit holder shall maintain at each alarm site a set of written
operating instructions for each alarm system.
(Ordinance 2024-O-012 adopted 4/24/2024)
(a)
No person shall operate, cause to be operated or allow the operation
of an alarm system:
(b)
No person shall cause a false alarm to be activated.
(c)
Any person who shall violate any of the provisions of this article or fail to comply therewith or with any requirements thereof, within the city limits, shall be deemed guilty of an offense and shall be liable for a fine in accordance with the general penalty provision found in section 1.01.009 of this code. Each day the violation exists shall constitute a separate offense.
(Ordinance 2024-O-012 adopted 4/24/2024)
Any person who operates, causes to be operated, or allows to
operate an alarm system without a valid permit shall be charged a
fee as set forth in the false notification section herein. This is
in addition to any criminal penalty imposed for violation of this
article.
(Ordinance 2024-O-012 adopted 4/24/2024)
(a)
No fee under this article will exceed $100.00; provided that
permit fees under this article for a residential location shall not
exceed $50.00.
(b)
All fees under this article shall be set herein and such fees
shall only be utilized to offset costs associated with the implementation,
enforcement, personnel training, and general administration of this
article by the police department.
(c)
A late payment fee will be charged for fees not paid on time.
(d)
The permit holder of record shall pay all fees incurred under
such permit, including false alarm fees.
(Ordinance 2024-O-012 adopted 4/24/2024)
(a)
The chief of police shall institute policies and procedures
in the form of operational orders to implement this article.
(b)
The chief of police shall publish pertinent excerpts from this
article and any relative policy statements that may be issued concerning
the standards for the operation of alarm systems subject to this article.
Each permit holder will be provided with copies of these standards
and all changes thereto.
(c)
The chief of police shall establish a procedure for the notification
to the permit holder or alarm user of fees and/or fines and shall
include the date and time of the police response; the identification
number of the responding officer, the amount of the fees/fines; and
a statement urging the permit holder or alarm user to ensure that
the alarm system is properly operated, inspected and serviced in order
to avoid future false alarms and resulting fines.
(d)
The chief of police shall establish a procedure to check and
ensure that alarm installation companies and monitoring companies
who operate within the city have and maintain a license through the
Texas Department of Public Safety Private Security Bureau.
(e)
The chief of police shall establish a procedure to ensure that
alarm installation companies and/or monitoring companies that purchase
accounts from another company or person shall notify the chief of
police of such purchase and provide a complete list of the acquired
customers, in a format the alarm company is capable of producing,
that includes the following:
(Ordinance 2024-O-012 adopted 4/24/2024)
(a)
The response, if any, made to a signal from a permitted alarm
system shall be subject to the policies and procedures of the police
department and will be in accordance with the priorities set for police
response.
(b)
The issuance of a permit authorizing the use of an alarm system
is not intended to nor shall it create a contract, either express
or implied, nor does it create a duty or guarantee of response by
the city police department. Any and all liability and consequential
damages resulting from the failure to respond to a notification are
hereby disclaimed and governmental immunity as provided by law is
retained.
(Ordinance 2024-O-012 adopted 4/24/2024)
(a)
The holder of an alarm permit shall pay a service fee as provided for in the fee schedule found in appendix A of this code. Such service fees shall begin and be collected in instances where the calls for service from an alarm site are in excess of five false alarms within the preceding 12-month period.
(b)
For any alarm notification for which a service fee is assessed,
the chief of police has the authority to investigate the circumstances
of the alarm and may waive the payment of the fee. Police responses
in excess of 30 minutes response time shall not result in a false
alarm incident for the purposes of this article's associated
service fees.
(Ordinance 2024-O-012 adopted 4/24/2024)
(a)
An alarm system may not be operated without a permit issued
by the chief of police. Upon enactment, permits shall be issued for
new systems conforming to the security industry association (SIA)
control panel standard with features for false alarm reduction. Existing
systems at the time of enactment not conforming to SIA, but conforming
to the requirements of state law, shall be permitted, or renewed within
the guidelines of this article until such time as such systems are
significantly modified or converted, or taken over by another alarm
company. On or after June 1, 2024, permits for new installations of
such systems with a detection device control panel, such device shall
meet or exceed the standards of the American National Standards Institute
for false alarm reduction.
(b)
A separate permit is required for each alarm site.
(c)
The permit holder shall keep the alarm permit at the alarm site
and shall produce such permit for inspection upon request of any member
of the police department.
(d)
If the permit holder does not advise the police department that
they have relinquished control of the alarm site, and cancel their
permit, the permit holder is responsible for outstanding fees associated
with that permit.
(e)
All persons having alarm systems at the time of enactment of
this article shall have 3 months from the time of the enactment of
this article to request a permit and comply with the terms of this
article. All new installations shall comply with the terms of this
article upon the passage and publication of the caption.
(Ordinance 2024-O-012 adopted 4/24/2024)
(a)
The owner or property manager of an apartment complex shall
obtain a master alarm permit if any alarm system is operated in any
residential unit on the premises, whether the alarm system is furnished
by the apartment complex owner or contracted for by an individual
tenant.
(b)
A tenant of an apartment complex shall obtain a permit before
operating or causing the operation of an alarm system in his/her residential
unit. Such permits shall be issued individually to tenant(s) for that
particular apartment unit.
(c)
The permit of the tenant supersedes the master permit of the
apartment complex, and the tenant shall be responsible for payment
of fees for false alarm notifications emitted from the alarm system
in the tenant's unit. The master alarm permit holder is responsible
for payment of service fees for false alarm notifications emitted
from unoccupied units or where no permit has been obtained by the
tenant. In such instances the alarm administrator or designee shall
notify master permit holders as to:
(1)
The date of the signaling of the false alarm;
(2)
The address of the multi-unit housing facility where the signaling
of the false alarm occurred; and
(3)
The identification of the individual facility, if applicable,
located on the multi-unit housing facility premises where the signaling
of the false alarm occurred.
(d)
The owner or property manager of an apartment complex shall
obtain a separate alarm permit for any alarm system operated in a
nonresidential area of the apartment complex, including, but not limited
to, common tenant areas and office, storage, and equipment areas.
(Ordinance 2024-O-012 adopted 4/24/2024)
(a)
An application for a permit shall be made by a person who owns,
leases, resides at, or manages the alarm site.
(b)
The application and the required fee, as provided for in the fee schedule in appendix A of this code, shall be submitted to the police department on a form provided by the department. Any false statement made by an applicant shall be investigated as a violation of V.T.C.A., Penal Code § 37.10, "tampering with governmental record," a third-degree felony.
(c)
An alarm permit is issued to an individual or corporate entity
and is nontransferable and nonrefundable unless such permit is purchased
as set forth herein.
(d)
The date of issuance will be the date the application is processed.
(e)
A permit shall issue for a one-year period.
(Ordinance 2024-O-012 adopted 4/24/2024)
A permit may be denied for:
(1)
Any false statement on the application;
(2)
Any false statement by the applicant in connection with the
application; or
(3)
An applicant has failed to pay a service fee assessed under
this article, or has had an alarm site permit revoked, and the violation
causing the revocation has not been corrected.
(Ordinance 2024-O-012 adopted 4/24/2024)
An application to renew a permit must be submitted one month prior to the end of the term of the permit. The application must include the completed application for renewal and appropriate fees. A late fee, as provided for in the fee schedule found in appendix A of this code, will be assessed. Permit holders not applying for renewal will be provided 30 days' notice of nonrenewal of such permit prior to termination of the permit. The term of the renewal is one year.
(Ordinance 2024-O-012 adopted 4/24/2024)
The chief of police shall have the authority to revoke an alarm
permit if he determines that:
(1)
There was a false statement made in the application for a permit.
(2)
Any false oral statement was made by the applicant in connection
with the permit application.
(3)
The permit holder has habitually violated the provisions of
this article.
(4)
The permit holder has failed to make payment of any fees assessed
under this article.
(5)
The permit holder does not maintain the alarm system in a manner
that minimizes false alarm notifications or ensures proper operation
of the alarm system, and such actions result in ten or more false
alarms in the preceding 12-month period.
(6)
All actions under this section for revocation of permits shall
include a 30-day notice of the city's intent to revoke before
action is taken.
(Ordinance 2024-O-012 adopted 4/24/2024)
(a)
If the chief of police refuses to issue a permit or revokes
a permit, the chief shall notify the applicant or holder by certified
mail, return receipt requested. The applicant or holder may appeal
the decision by filing a notice of appeal with the city secretary.
This notice setting forth the reasons for appeal must be received
within ten calendar days of the date of receipt of the notice of revocation.
The receipt of the notice of appeal will stay the revocation of the
permit. If the notice of appeal is not timely filed, the revocation
is final.
(b)
The city manager or designee will serve as the hearing officer
to hear the appeal. At the hearing, the formal rules of evidence do
not apply. The hearing officer shall make his decision on the basis
of a preponderance of the evidence presented. The hearing officer
must render a decision within 60 days after the appeal is filed. The
hearing officer may affirm, reverse, or modify the action of the chief.
The decision of the hearing officer is final.
(Ordinance 2024-O-012 adopted 4/24/2024)
A permit may be reinstated by the chief of police when the revoked
permit holder pays the application fee, as well as any fines or late
fees, and shows that:
(1)
The fees required under this article have been paid or otherwise
resolved;
(2)
The alarm system is operated in accordance with the requirements
of this article by submitting a certificate from an alarm installation
company, stating that the alarm has been inspected and repaired or
upgraded (if necessary) and the owner has been afforded proper training
on the use and operation of the alarm; and
(3)
A current application is submitted.
(Ordinance 2024-O-012 adopted 4/24/2024)
