[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Village of Endicott 7-10-2006.[1] Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Fire prevention and building construction — See Ch. 138.
Housing standards — See Ch. 160.
[1]
Editor's Note: This enactment supersedes former Ch. 82, Alarms,
adopted 10-23-1989 by L.L. No. 5-1989 as Ch. 54 of the 1989 Code, as amended.
This chapter may be known and cited by the following short title: "A
Local Law Regulating the Sales, Installation and Maintenance of Burglar, Fire
and Other Emergency Alarms in the Village of Endicott."
For the purpose of this chapter, the following terms are defined:
The Village Clerk, whose responsibility is to administer, control
and review alarm applications, permits and alarm dispatch requests, perform
billing of applications and fines as assessed.
Any person or party who manufactures, constructs, installs or otherwise
prepares emergency alarms to be installed anywhere in the Village.
The Mayor or designee.
Any alarm systems designed to send a signal, recorded or otherwise,
which terminates in any manner at the communication center of the Village
or any alarm system designed to emit an audible signal at the scene of installation.
An alarm dispatch request to the Police Department, Fire Department
or emergency medical service where the responding agency finds no evidence
of a criminal offense, attempted criminal offense, fire emergency or medical
emergency after having completed a timely investigation of the alarm site.
No alarm supplier and/or installer shall be permitted to do business
in the Village without first being licensed to do so by the State of New York.
A current copy of said license must be filed with the Alarm Administrator
prior to business being conducted in the Village of Endicott.
A.
Application required. No emergency alarms as defined by § 82-2 of this chapter shall be installed in the Village without prior submission of an application to and without prior approval of the Chief of Police, Village of Endicott, to have said emergency alarm installed.
B.
Exception. Any alarm installation which will terminate
at either a central station or an answering service will not need an application,
but the installer must furnish the Police Department with complete information
as to type of alarm, maintenance service, emergency numbers and any other
information deemed pertinent by the Chief of Police.
A.
Any and all emergency alarms in the Village must be adequately
maintained. The owner of an alarm system shall maintain the premises and the
alarm system in a manner that will minimize or eliminate false alarm dispatches,
make every reasonable effort to respond or cause a representative to respond
to the alarm system's location within one hour when notified by the Village
to deactivate a malfunctioning alarm system, to provide access to the premises
or to provide security for the premises; and not manually activate an alarm
for any reason other than an occurrence of an event that the alarm system
was intended to report.
B.
An alarm supplier and installer shall provide a copy
of the current Village of Endicott alarm regulations and ensure that the user
has been properly instructed in the use of the system.
Rules and regulations governing operation, testing, etc., of emergency
alarm systems will be determined by the Chief of Police. These rules and regulations
must be adhered to; violation of same could result in the suspension or revocation
of the applicant's permit.
A.
Charges.
(1)
Response on the part of police patrol units of firemen on any alarm not only endangers the lives of the persons who are proceeding to the scene but also civilians along the way. All caution possible is used in making these responses, but there is always the element of danger. False alarms, when they are caused by human error or malfunctions of the equipment at the subscriber's terminals, cannot be allowed to continue. Therefore, an alarm user or permit holder for a multiple dwelling, as defined in Chapter 160, Housing Standards, of the Village Code, shall be subject to fines and warnings depending on the number of false alarm dispatches emitted from an alarm system within a twelve-month calendar period based upon the following schedule:
|
Number of False Alarm Dispatches
|
Action Taken
|
Fine
| |
|---|---|---|---|
|
1
|
Written notice and warning letter #1
|
$0
| |
|
2
|
Written notice and warning letter #2
|
$0
| |
|
3
|
Written notice and fine
|
$25
| |
|
4
|
Written notice and fine
|
$50
| |
|
5
|
Written notice and fine
|
$75
| |
|
Additional
|
Written notice with fine increasing $25 per violation
| ||
(2)
Alarm dispatch requests caused by actual criminal offense,
or with evidence of a criminal attempt, actual fire, actual medical emergency
or weather-related causes shall not be counted as a false alarm dispatch.
Wire trouble, caused by problems within the telephone lines, can be monitored
by the console and will not be considered as false alarm dispatches.
B.
Appeal from fines. The owner of an alarm system may appeal
assessment of a fine to the Appeals Officer by filing a written request for
hearing, setting forth the reasons for the appeal within 10 days after receipt
of the fine. All fines shall remain assessed during the filing of a request
for an appeal hearing with the Appeals Officer until a final decision is made.
The Appeals Officer shall conduct a formal hearing and consider the evidence
by any interested persons. The Appeals Officer shall make his/her decision
on the basis of the preponderance of evidence presented at the hearing, including,
but not limited to, evidence that a false alarm dispatch was caused by a defective
part that has been repaired or replaced or that an alarm dispatch request
was caused by a criminal offense. The Appeals Officer must render a decision
within 30 days after the request for an appeal hearing is filed. The Appeals
Officer shall affirm, reverse or modify the assessment of the fine. The decision
of the Appeals Officer is final as to administrative remedies within the Village.
All at-scene audible alarm system must be installed with a timeout timer
which will discontinue the signal after 15 minutes, in order to prevent unnecessary
harassment of area residents when it is impossible to locate someone to turn
off the alarm.
Any dialer type of alarm system will be programmed to dial a representative
of the subscriber as well as the communication center's assigned number.
The subscriber and/or dealer-installer will furnish the Police Department
with adequate information to complete the "Emergency Card for Premises Which
Has Alarm System," a supply of which is available at the Police Department.
The Village shall take every reasonable precaution to assure that emergency alarm signals and prerecorded alarm message received by the Village are given appropriate and immediate attention. Nevertheless, the Village shall not be liable for any defects in operation of emergency alarm systems, for any failure to respond appropriately or any errant response upon receipt of any emergency alarm signal nor for the failure or defect of any licensee pursuant to § 82-3 in respect to the installation, operation or maintenance of equipment, the transmission of alarm signals or messages or the relaying of such signals or messages. In the event that the Village finds it necessary to disconnect a module signaling device, the Village shall incur no liability therefrom.
Any person violating any of the provisions of this chapter shall be
guilty of a violation and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punishable by
a fine not exceeding $250 for each offense or imprisonment not exceeding 15
days, or both such fine and imprisonment.
