Town of New Hartford, NY Electrical Standards

Whereas it is in the best interest of the public safety, health and welfare that all work concerning electrical installations and alterations or wiring for electric power in excess of 50 volts on all real property within the Town of New Hartford, New York, be made subject to the National Electrical Code (NEC), also known as the "National Fire Protection Association Standard No. 70," as amended, as approved and adopted by New York State, and whereas, in order to ensure that the provisions of said National Electrical Code are enforced in the Town of New Hartford, New York, it is necessary that inspection services be performed therein by duly qualified and responsible agencies, requiring the registration of inspection agencies, this chapter is hereby enacted to provide for the registration of approved electrical inspection agencies within the Town of New Hartford, New York.

§ 59-3 Designation of approved agencies.

An "approved agency" hereunder shall mean any person, firm or corporation engaged in the business of performing electrical inspections; provided, however, that:

Such agency is duly qualified to do business in the State of New York.

Such agency is acceptable, as an independent electrical inspection agency, to the electrical utility or utilities furnishing electrical energy in and to the Town of New Hartford, New York.

All persons acting in a capacity as an electrical inspector shall be certified by either the International Association of Electrical Inspectors (Certified Electrical Inspector Master) or the International Codes Council as an electrical inspector (E1 and E2), or the latest equivalent rating by either organization. The certification shall be filed with the Town of New Hartford Codes Department and remain in full force and effect at all times such inspector conducts inspections of electrical installations in the Town of New Hartford. An approved electrical inspection agency shall file with the Codes Department a copy of the certification for each electrical inspector who shall operate on its behalf within the Town.

Such agency shall file with the Codes Department suitable proof of current liability insurance of not less than $3,000,000, including errors and omissions, for each person and each occurrence, and name the Town of New Hartford as "additionally insured" to satisfy claims or judgment for property damage and/or personal injury arising out of failure of its inspector to properly discharge his or her duties and responsibilities. Additionally, all agencies shall maintain the required workers' compensation and disability coverage naming the Town of New Hartford as a certificate holder.

Such agency shall pay an annual fee of $250, regardless of the number of inspectors they employ, to perform inspections in the Town of New Hartford. Registration shall commence on the first working day of December and end on the last working day of December for the subsequent year.

[Amended 2-8-2017 by L.L. No. 1-2017]

Such agency shall provide the Town with a schedule of fees for the calendar year in which it is applying and in no case change those fees during that year unless a sixty-day advance notice is given to the Town.

The Town Board may at any time, upon its own initiative or upon the recommendation of the Code Enforcement Officer, terminate the authority of any authorized electrical inspection agency or electrical inspector to conduct electrical inspections hereunder, and the Code Enforcement Officer may, upon the noncompliance by such agency or inspector with the provisions herein or upon the inconsistent application of the standards for electrical installations to different premises by either, suspend the approval of any such agency or inspector upon notice to the Town Board, which suspension shall continue until further action by the Town Board. Any registration fee paid shall not be reimbursed unless the Town Board resolves to reimburse said agency.

Each approved electrical inspection agency is hereby authorized to conduct inspections and reinspections of electrical installations in buildings and premises within the Town of New Hartford, for compliance with the Electrical Code, and to approve or disapprove the same, and in no event shall the cost or expense of such inspections and/or reinspections be a charge to the Town of New Hartford, and all costs for inspections or reinspections required by this section shall be paid by the applicant. Each certified inspector of an approved electrical inspection agency is hereby designated and authorized to serve as an electrical inspector for the Town of New Hartford.

No electrical inspector or electrical inspection agency approved hereunder shall inspect and approve or issue a certificate of compliance for any property for which there has been issued a notice of noncompliance by another electrical inspector or electrical inspection agency authorized hereunder unless the inspection of corrected work was required by the Code Enforcement Officer of the Town of New Hartford.

§ 59-4 Duties of inspector.

It shall be the duty of the inspector to report, in writing, to the Code Enforcement Officer, whose duty shall be to enforce all the provisions of this chapter, all violations or deviations from or omissions of the Electrical Code or the electrical provisions of the New York State Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code,[1] as referred to in this chapter, insofar as any of the same apply to electrical wiring and installations in the Town of New Hartford, upon written request of the Code Enforcement Officer.

[1]

Editor's Note: See Ch. 65, Fire Prevention and Building Code Administration and Enforcement.

The inspector is authorized to make inspections and reinspections of electrical wiring, installations, devices, appliances and equipment in and on properties within the Town of New Hartford where necessary for the protection of life and property.

In the event of an emergency, or in the event a questionable electrical installation is observed by a Code Enforcement Officer of the Town of New Hartford, the Code Enforcement Officer may request that any approved agency perform an inspection of suspected violations, the subsequent costs of which shall be paid for by the property owner or contractor. Any agency called in these situations shall be the agency of record and shall continue as the inspection agency of record until all violations are remedied or until their contract is fulfilled.

In all cases, all approved electrical inspection agencies must immediately notify the Town of New Hartford Codes Department electronically of all applications and initial inspections of electrical installations, describing the extent of the work being inspected.

It shall be the duty of the approved electrical inspector to furnish written reports to the Code Enforcement Officer of the Town of New Hartford and owners and/or lessees of property where defective electrical installations and equipment are found upon inspection. He or she shall also authorize the issuance of a certificate of compliance when electrical installations and equipment are in conformity with this chapter and the Electrical Code and only when the prerequisite inspections have taken place. A copy of such certificate shall be sent to the Town of New Hartford, to the attention of the Code Enforcement Officer, and include the building permit number on the report where applicable. Certificates shall be sent electronically within 48 hours of final inspection, and a hard copy is to follow no later than 10 days after final inspection, detailing the extent of the inspection.

All approved electrical inspectors shall be required to provide a cellular telephone number and e-mail address by which the Town of New Hartford Codes Department can contact each inspector.

All approved electrical inspectors will be provided with identification cards which must be displayed at all times during an inspection in the Town of New Hartford.

§ 59-5 Adoption of standards.

Chapter 65 of The Code of the Town of New Hartford accepts the New York State Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code (Uniform Code) as the building code standard for the Town of New Hartford. Since the Uniform Code accepts "National Fire Protection Association Standard No. 70" (NEC) as the reference standard for electrical codes, the latest version of the NEC or NFPA 70 adopted by the Uniform Code shall be the accepted standard for the Town of New Hartford.

§ 59-6 Prohibitions.

It shall be a violation of this chapter for any person, firm or corporation to install or cause to be installed or alter electrical wiring (50 volts or greater) in or on properties of the Town of New Hartford, New York, without obtaining an electrical compliance certificate from an approved electrical inspector of the Town of New Hartford.

In no case shall an electrical survey be substituted for a full electrical inspection on new electrical installations. In the event an electrical inspection is requested or ordered, after electrical work has been concealed, it shall be the responsibility of each approved electrical inspector to require any concealed wiring be exposed for the purposes of inspection to his/her satisfaction so he/she may issue a certificate of compliance.

It further shall be a violation of this chapter for a person, firm or corporation to connect or cause to be connected electrical wiring (50 volts or greater) in or on properties in the Town of New Hartford, New York, or power to any source of electrical equipment prior to the issuance of a temporary certificate or a certificate of compliance by an approved electrical inspection agency.

Further, it shall be a violation for any approved electrical inspection agency to issue a certificate of compliance without making a thorough inspection of electrical work.

§ 59-7 Penalties for offenses.

Any person, firm or corporation violating any provision of this chapter shall be deemed guilty of a violation and, upon conviction thereof, shall be liable to a civil penalty of a fine and/or imprisonment as prescribed in § 118-124 of the Code of the Town of New Hartford. Each separate day or any portion thereof during which any violation occurs or continues shall be deemed to constitute a separate offense and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punishable as herein provided.

§ 59-8 Cost of services.

The services performed by such approved agency shall be rendered without cost to the Town of New Hartford, New York; provided, however, that nothing herein contained shall prevent such agency from charging fees to private applicants for its said services in accordance with its published schedule of fees, as the same may be amended from time to time, which said schedule shall be on file with the Town Clerk.