[HISTORY: Adopted by the Village Board of the Village of Webster 3-13-1986
as Title 7, Ch. 11 of the 1986 Code. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Fire prevention — See Ch. 151.
This chapter shall be known as the "Village of Webster Alarm Systems
Chapter."
The purpose of this chapter is to provide minimum standards and regulations
applicable to burglar, fire and holdup alarm systems, alarm businesses 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 meanings 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 a single device such as a
solid-state unit which plugs directly into a one-hundred-ten-volt AC line
or otherwise receives electrical energy arranged to signal the presence of
a hazard requiring urgent attention and to which the Police Department or
Sheriff's Department is expected to respond. In this chapter, the term
"alarm system" shall include the terms "automatic holdup alarm system," "burglar
alarm system," "holdup 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.
The instrumentation on an alarm console at the receiving terminal
of a signal line through which both visual and audible signals show when an
alarm device at a particular location has been activated or which, in the
event of malfunction, may also indicate line trouble.
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 the Burnett County
Sheriff's Department.
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 Department or the Burnett County Sheriff's Department dispatch
center.
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.
A telephone line leading directly into the dispatch center of the
Police Department or Burnett County Sheriff's Department 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 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 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 the Burnett County Sheriff's
Department shall only be done person to person on the telephone line.
Direct connections to the Webster Police Department are prohibited.
A.
No alarm business or alarm system designed to transmit
emergency messages to the Police Department shall be tested or demonstrated
without prior notification of the Police Department dispatcher or the Burnett
County Sheriff's Department dispatcher. Alarm business 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 the Burnett County Sheriff's Department will
be tested to determine the Police Department's or Burnett County Sheriff's
Department's response without first notifying the appropriate authority.
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. 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 of the village. Such false alarms constitute a public nuisance
and must be abated.
B.
Intentional. No person shall intentionally cause the
activation of a burglar/fire alarm device knowing that no criminal activity,
fire or other emergency exists.
C.
Administrative charges.
(1)
Any person, business, corporation or other entity having
a permissible alarm system with alarm device(s) at one or more locations in
accordance with this chapter shall pay to the village a charge for false alarms
responded to by the Police or Fire Department according to the following schedule
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:
(2)
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 or the Police and Fire Department 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 any additional forfeiture(s) which may be imposed under the next Subsection D hereof for violation of this section for allowing or maintaining a 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.
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 immediately preceding Subsection C of this section, shall be subject to forfeiture of not less than $10 nor more than $500 together with costs of prosecution.
E.
Default of payment for forfeiture and/or costs. On default of payment of forfeiture and/or costs under the immediately preceding Subsections 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 are paid, but not to exceed a length of time specified by the court, which length of time shall not exceed six months.
The Chief of Police is authorized to require that the owner or lessee
of any alarm system directly connected to the Department or primary trunk
lines shall disconnect such device within 30 days after passage of this chapter.
The Village of Webster 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.
A.
Permit required. A permit is required for each private
alarm system on premises within the village. There shall be a permit fee as
established by the Village Board.
B.
Interior alarms. A permit under this chapter is not required
for an alarm system which gives a signal, visual or audible or both, solely
within the interior of the building in which it is located.
C.
Issuing authority. The issuing authority for permits
shall be the Chief of Police.
D.
Application. Application for permit required under this
chapter shall be filed with the Chief of Police. The Chief of Police shall
prescribe the form of the application and request such information as is necessary
to evaluate and act upon the permit application. The Chief of Police shall
deny a permit if the alarm system for which it is sought does not comply with
this chapter.
A.
Hearing. Before a permit issued pursuant to this chapter
may be revoked, a hearing shall be held before the Chief of Police. Notice
setting forth the time, place and nature of the hearing shall be sent by mail
or delivered to the permittee at the address shown on the permit application
not less than seven days prior to the hearing.
B.
Grounds for revocation. The Chief of Police may revoke
a permit on the following grounds:
C.
Appeals. Any permittee may appeal the decision of the
Chief of Police by filing a written notice of appeal with the Clerk-Treasurer
within 10 days after the decision. Such appeal shall be heard by the Village
Board within 30 days after filing the appeal. The Village Board may affirm,
amend or reverse the decision or take other action deemed appropriate. An
appeal timely taken suspends the revocation until the Board gives its decision.
The Clerk-Treasurer shall give written notice of the time and place of the
hearing to the appellant by certified mail or personal delivery not less than
seven days before the hearing. In conducting the hearing, the Village Board
shall not be limited by the technical rules of evidence.
B.
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 chapter.
