Borough of Sea Bright, NJ Alarms

Any security alarm system which has been installed before the effective date of this chapter shall be registered and a permit fee collected by the alarm administrator and/or his designee within 60 days after such effective date. The alarm agreement holding company shall provide, in a format approved by the alarm administrator, an alarm user list of existing alarm users in the Borough, including name, address, billing address, telephone number and the telephone number of the law enforcement agency that they have listed to call to report an alarm for that alarm site to the alarm administrator.

The alarm agreement holding company may through a mutual written agreement have another alarm company provide the alarm user's list.

Failure to comply within 30 days after being notified in writing from the alarm administrator will result in a fee of $50 per business day until the alarm agreement holding company complies with this requirement.

New security alarm systems.

Any alarm installation company that installs a security alarm system on premises located within the Borough limits of the Borough of Sea Bright shall notify the alarm administrator that a security alarm system has been installed and send the alarm administrator the required information as listed in the alarm permit application, § 53-7, including the appropriate registration permit fee collected from the alarm user.

Failure of an alarm installation company to notify the alarm administrator of a new security alarm system installation prior to the system's activation shall result in a fee of $100 fee to the alarm installation company.

The initial alarm permit registration fee must be submitted to the alarm administrator at the same time as the registration application or an alarm system takeover.

It shall be the responsibility of the alarm user to forward to the alarm administrator the completed application within seven days of installation.

§ 53-6 Alarm registration, permit and renewal fees.

Beginning January 1, 2015, an alarm registration shall expire on December 31 of the year in which issued and must be renewed annually by the alarm user by submitting an updated application and a permit renewal fee. The alarm administrator and/or his designee shall notify the alarm user of the need to renew their permit 30 days prior to the expiration of the registration. It is the responsibility of the alarm user to submit the updated information and renewal fees prior to the registration/renewal expiration date. Failure to renew shall be classified as use of a nonregistered security alarm system and subject the alarm site to a suspension and/or late fees.

Fees.

Registration permit fees shall be collected annually beginning January 1, 2015, and will be based on a one-year permit period. Said period will run from January 1 through December 31 of each year.

Permit and renewal fees are as follows:

Residential: $25.

Commercial: $50.

Late fee. Alarm users who fail to make payment for an alarm permit prior to the registration expiration date will be assessed a late fee in the amount of $10.

Refunds. No refund of a permit or permit renewal fee will be made.

Any alarm installation company that installs or activates an alarm system on premises within the Borough after the effective date of this chapter shall have the alarm user complete a customer false alarm prevention checklist and the installer shall complete an alarm installer checklist. The alarm installation company shall keep on file the completed checklist for up to one year after the activation of the alarm system. Failure to complete the required checklists shall result in an administrative fee of $100 per incident against the alarm installation company.

Upon receipt of a completed alarm permit application form and the alarm permit fee, the alarm administrator and/or his designee shall issue a permit or permit renewal to the applicant unless:

The applicant has failed to pay any fee assessed under this chapter; or

An alarm permit for the alarm site has been suspended, and the condition causing the suspension has not been corrected; or

Any false statement of a material fact made by an applicant for the purpose of obtaining an alarm registration shall be sufficient cause for refusal to issue a registration alarm permit.

Upon receipt of the permit application form and fee, the alarm administrator shall issue a permit and permit number to the alarm user which will be valid through December 31 of the year issued if the alarm administrator is satisfied that the registration information is complete and that the alarm system will be operated in conformance to this chapter. Renewal permits are valid for a one-year period beginning January 1 and ending December 31.

Permit number. A valid permit number for the alarm site is required for each request for a burglar alarm dispatch. A burglar alarm request without a valid permit number may not be accepted for a police dispatch.

Exceptions:

Government entities, including but not necessarily limited to the Borough of Sea Bright, county, state, federal and the school district, must obtain permits for all alarm systems on property under their control within the corporate boundaries of the Borough of Sea Bright but are exempt from payment of permit and renewal fees.

All permit fee exempted alarm sites stated in Subsection H(1) above are required to obtain and renew a valid alarm permit for police response and may be subjected to all other fees and suspension enforcement.

§ 53-7 Permit application; contents.

An application for an alarm permit must be on a form provided by the Borough of Sea Bright Police Department and must contain the following information:

The name, complete address, apartment or suite number, telephone numbers of the person who will be the holder of the permit and be responsible for the proper maintenance and operation of the alarm system and payment of fees assessed along with an emergency contact number under this chapter;

The physical address and classification of the alarm site as either residential (includes apartment, condo, mobile home, etc.) or commercial;

The classification of the alarm system (i.e., burglary, fire, holdup, duress, panic alarm or other) for each alarm system located at the alarm site, and, for each classification, whether the alarm is audible or silent;

The applicant's mailing address, if different from the address of the alarm site;

Any dangerous or special conditions present at the alarm site such as guard dogs or any type of alarm system that is rigged to produce a temporary disability or sensory deprivation through use of chemical, electrical, sonic or other means, including use of devices that obscure or disable one's vision;

A written notice from the alarm user setting forth the following:

The date of installation, conversion or takeover of the alarm system, whichever is applicable;

The name, address, and telephone number of the alarm installation company or companies performing the alarm system installation, conversion or takeover and of the alarm installation company responsible for providing repair service to the alarm system;

The name, address, and telephone number of the monitoring company if different from the alarm installation company;

That a set of written operating instructions for the alarm system, including written guidelines on how to avoid false alarms, have been left with the applicant by the alarm installation company; and

That the alarm installation company has trained the applicant in proper use of the alarm system, including instructions on how to avoid false alarms.

An acknowledgement that the police response may be influenced by factors including, but not limited to, the availability of officers, priority of calls, traffic conditions, weather conditions, emergency conditions, prior alarm history, administrative actions and staffing levels.

§ 53-8 Transfer of permit prohibited.

An alarm permit cannot be transferred to another person or alarm site. An alarm user shall inform the alarm administrator of any change to the information listed on the alarm permit application within 10 business days after such change.

Exceptions may be made in the discretion of the alarm administrator when the transfer proposed is among members of the family of the original permit holder or successors in interest to the property for which the permit has been issued.

§ 53-9 Duties of alarm users.

An alarm user shall:

Maintain the alarm site and the alarm system in a manner that will minimize or eliminate false alarms;

Make every reasonable effort to arrive at the alarm system's location within 30 minutes after being requested by the monitoring company or Police Department in order to:

Deactivate an alarm system;

Provide access to the alarm site; and/or

Provide alternative security for the alarm site.

Provide your alarm company with the updated names and telephone numbers of at least two individuals who are able and have agreed to:

Receive notification of an alarm system activation at any time;

Respond to the alarm site at any time; and

Provide access to the alarm site and deactivate the alarm system, if necessary.

Not activate an alarm system for any reason other than an occurrence of an event that the alarm system was intended to report.

No person shall operate or cause to be operated any automatic dialing device which, when activated, uses a telephone device or attachment to automatically dial a telephone line leading into the Police Department or the Borough and then transmit any prerecorded message or signal. An administrative fee of $100 per incident will be assessed.

An alarm user shall keep a set of written operating instructions for each alarm system at each alarm site.

All alarm users shall agree with their alarm installation company or monitoring company to go through an acclimation period for the first seven days after activation of a burglar alarm system, during which time the alarm installation company or monitoring company will have no obligation to respond to, nor will it respond to, any alarm signal from the alarm site, or make an alarm dispatch request to the police, even if the alarm signal is the result of an actual alarm event. Exceptions to the acclimation period of nonresponse can be made by the Police Department in special circumstances, including but not limited to, domestic violence and stalking.

An alarm user should have an alarm installation company inspect the alarm system after two false alarms in their one-year permit period to modify the alarm system to be more false alarm resistant or provide additional user training as appropriate.

§ 53-10 Audible alarms; restrictions, disconnects.

After the effective date of this chapter no one shall install, modify or repair an alarm system in the Borough of Sea Bright that has a siren, bell or other signal that is audible from any property adjacent to the alarm site that sounds for longer than 15 consecutive minutes after the alarm is activated or that repeats the fifteen-minute audible cycle more than three consecutive times during a single armed period. An administrative fee of $100 per incident will be assessed.

Audible alarm systems may be disconnected by the Borough of Sea Bright through the use of any means reasonable and necessary if the alarm does not automatically shut off as described in Subsection A. The Borough or its employees or agents shall not be responsible or liable for damage resulting from such disconnection.

§ 53-11 Duties of alarm installation companies and monitoring companies.

Each alarm installation company and alarm monitoring company must designate one individual as the alarm response manager (ARM) for the company. The individual designated as the ARM must be knowledgeable of the provisions of this chapter, as well as have the knowledge and authority to deal with false alarm issues and respond to requests from the alarm administrator. The name, contact number, and email address of the ARM shall be provided to the alarm administrator.

Alarm installation companies shall:

Upon the installation or activation of an alarm system, the alarm installation company shall distribute to the alarm user information summarizing:

The applicable law relating to false alarms, including the permit fee and the potential for service fees and suspension of an alarm permit;

How to prevent false alarms; and

How to operate the alarm system.

After the effective date of this chapter, alarm installation companies shall not program alarm systems so that they are capable of sending one plus duress alarms. Monitoring companies may continue to report one plus duress alarms received from alarm systems programmed with one plus duress alarms installed prior to the effective date of this chapter.

Upon the effective date of this chapter, alarm installation companies shall not install, modify or repair "single-action" devices for the activation of holdup, robbery or panic alarms. New devices shall require two actions or an activation delay to provide more positive assurance that the user intends to activate the device. No single-action key fob devices are allowed.

Ninety days after the effective date of this chapter, an alarm installation company shall, on new installations, use only alarm control panel(s) which meet ANSI/SIA CP-01 Control Panel Standard Features for False Alarm Reduction.

An alarm company shall not use an automatic voice dialer for any alarm system which, when activated, uses a telephone device or attachment to automatically dial a telephone line leading into the Police Department or the Borough and then transmit any prerecorded message or signal. An administrative fee of $100 per incident shall be assessed.

(6)

After completion of the installation of an alarm system, an employee of the alarm installation company shall review with the alarm user the customer false alarm prevention checklist or an equivalent checklist approved by the alarm administrator and/or his designee. The installer shall complete the alarm installer checklist.

(7)

Ensure that all alarm users of alarm systems equipped with a duress, robbery, holdup or panic alarm has been provided adequate training as to the proper use of the alarm. Panic alarms shall be set to have an audible alarm upon activation.

(8)

Each installation company must maintain, for a period of at least one year after the date of installation or activation of an alarm system, both the completed alarm installer checklist and the customer false alarm prevention checklist. The alarm administrator may request copies of such records for any individual alarm user. The company shall provide the requested records within five business days. Failure to comply with this subsection will incur a $50 service fee.

A monitoring company shall:

A monitoring company shall not make an alarm dispatch request to a burglar alarm signal during the first seven-day acclimation period after a burglar alarm system installation or activation. Exceptions to the acclimation period of nonresponse can be made by the Police Department in special circumstances, including but not limited to, domestic violence and stalking.

Report alarm signals by using telephone numbers designated by the alarm administrator and/or his designee.

Employ enhanced call verification on all burglar alarms. The Borough of Sea Bright Police Department may refuse to accept an alarm dispatch request from a monitoring company that has failed to comply with the procedures required by enhanced call verification.

Communicate alarm dispatch requests to the Police Department in a manner and form determined by the alarm administrator and/or his designee.

A valid permit number is required for all alarm requests. Failure to provide a valid permit number may result in the call request not being accepted for a police dispatch.

Provide zone(s) activation information.

Communicate cancellations to the Police Department in a manner and form determined by the alarm administrator and/or his designee.

(6)

Communicate any available information (north, south, front, back, door, window, etc.) about the location of an alarm signal(s) as part of an alarm dispatch request.

(7)

Communicate the type of alarm activation (silent or audible, interior or perimeter), if available, on any alarm dispatch request.

(8)

Notify dispatch of any alarm site that it knows, or reasonably should know, has guard dog(s) or is fitted with a protective-reactive device. During any alarm at such a site, a responsible party must be contacted and confirm that he or she will respond to the alarm site to disarm the device or take control of the guard dog(s). In all cases where a guard dog or a protective-reactive device is present at an alarm site, the police dispatch request shall include a warning for officers not to enter the alarm site until the responsible party is present and has disarmed the device or taken control of the guard dog(s).

(9)

After an alarm dispatch request, promptly advise the Police Department if the monitoring company knows that the alarm user or a responsible party is on the way to the alarm site.

(10)

Each monitoring company must maintain, for a period of at least one year after the date of an alarm dispatch request, all records relating to the alarm dispatch request. Records must include the name, address and telephone number of the alarm user, each alarm system zone activated, the time of alarm dispatch request and evidence of all attempts to verify. The alarm administrator may request copies of such records for any individual alarm user. Failure to comply with this subsection will incur a service fee of $50 per incident.

(11)

Each monitoring company shall, upon request, immediately provide the Police Department with the names and phone numbers of the alarm user's emergency contacts at the time of each alarm dispatch request.

(12)

Conversion of alarm users. An alarm installation company or monitoring company that converts the servicing of any alarm system account from another company shall notify the alarm administrator of such conversion and shall provide to the alarm administrator, within 30 days from the date of conversion, an alarm user list of the converted accounts, in a format acceptable to the alarm administrator and/or his designee that includes the following:

Permit number.

Customer name.

Customer billing address.

(d)

Customer telephone number.

(e)

Alarm site address.

(f)

Alarm installation company license number.

(g)

Monitoring company license number.

(13)

The customer lists described in Subsection C(12) above are proprietary and confidential information and will not be released to anyone absent a court order.

(14)

Failure to provide alarm user lists to the alarm administrator, as required in Subsection C(12) above, will result in a fee of $50 per business day until the alarm installation company or monitoring company complies with the requirement.

(15)

Disconnected alarm users. An alarm installation company or alarm monitoring company that holds the alarm agreement shall notify the alarm administrator by the 15th day of each month of all their alarm customers within the Borough of Sea Bright that have discontinued their alarm service with the company in the previous month. Failure to comply can result in an administrative fee of $50 per incident.

§ 53-12 Duties and authority of the alarm administrator and/or his designee.

The alarm administrator and/or his designee shall:

Designate the manner and form of alarm dispatch requests and the telephone numbers to be used for such requests; and

Establish a procedure to accept cancellation of alarm dispatch requests.

The alarm administrator and/or his designee shall establish a procedure to acquire and record information on alarm dispatch requests, including the following information; i.e., the CAD entry shall include:

Identification of the alarm site by address, (apartment number, unit number, suite number) and business name or last name;

The date and time alarm dispatch request was received, including the name of the monitoring company and the monitoring operator's name or number;

Date and time of an officer's arrival at the alarm site;

The alarm zone(s) and zone description.

The alarm administrator and/or his designee shall establish and implement a procedure to notify the alarm user of a false alarm. The notice shall include the following:

The date and time of an officer's response to the false alarm.

A statement urging the alarm user to ensure that the alarm system is properly operated, inspected, and serviced in order to avoid false alarms and resulting false alarm fees.

Any false alarm fees incurred.

The alarm administrator and/or his designee may require that a conference be held with an alarm user and the alarm installation company or monitoring company responsible for repairing or monitoring of the alarm system to review the circumstances of each false alarm. The conference may be held in person or through a conference telephone call at the alarm administrator's discretion. Failure to participate may result in suspension of the alarm permit.

The alarm administrator and/or his designee may establish an alarm user awareness class. The alarm administrator and/or his designee may request the assistance of associations, alarm companies and law enforcement agencies in developing and implementing the class. The class shall inform alarm users of the alarm ordinance, problems created by false alarms and teach alarm users how to avoid creating false alarms.

If a false robbery, holdup or panic alarm has occurred and the alarm was triggered using a single action, nonrecessed device, the alarm administrator may consider a waiver or partial waiver of the false alarm fee, if action is taken by the alarm user to remove or replace the single-action, nonrecessed device.

The alarm administrator and/or his designee will make a copy of this chapter and/or an ordinance summary sheet available to each alarm user.

§ 53-13 False alarm fees; service fees; late fees.

False alarm service fees. An alarm user shall pay the following fees to the alarm administrator for police response to any false alarm during their one-year permit period:

False Alarm Service Fees
False Alarms	Service Fee
1 and 2	Complimentary
3	$50
4 and 5	$100
6+	$150

If a false alarm fee is not paid within 30 days after the invoice is mailed, a late fee in the amount of $20 will be imposed.

Fees for false alarms by nonpermitted alarm systems. In addition to the fees set forth in Subsections A and B, a supplemental fee is hereby imposed upon any person operating a nonpermitted alarm system in the amount of $100 for each false alarm.

Where the investigation of the Police Department discloses a disregard of the permittee for taking remedial steps to avoid false alarms and/or the failure of the permittee to pay any administrative charge, the Chief of Police or his designee reserves the right to require disconnection provided that no such permit shall be revoked or suspended without giving the permittee the opportunity to appeal said decision. In addition, if any person fails to pay any administrative charge within 30 days of the notification of said charge to any person, a summons may be issued for a violation of this chapter.

Any unauthorized equipment may be required to be disconnected by the Chief of Police or his designee for noncompliance with this chapter; and any person installing or maintaining unauthorized equipment shall be prosecuted for violation of this chapter; and each and every day said equipment is in operation shall be considered a separate violation. Any permittee shall, by acceptance of the permit, be deemed as having consented to inspection of the premises on which said alarm devices are installed at reasonable hours by the Chief of Police and/or his designee.

Any monitoring company requesting an alarm dispatch request for a nonpermitted alarm system shall pay an administration fee of $100 per incident. If the fee is not paid within 30 days after the invoice is mailed, a late fee in the amount of $25 is hereby imposed on the monitoring company.

If cancellation of police response occurs prior to the police officer's arrival at the alarm site, the response is considered a false alarm and any applicable fee(s) will be assessed. The police cannot and will not cancel once notified by a monitoring/alarm company of an activated alarm.

The alarm installation company shall be assessed a fee of $100 if the officer responding to the false alarm determines that an on-site employee of the alarm installation company directly caused the false alarm. Such false alarms are not included in the total number of false alarms for the alarm user.

A fee of $100 is hereby imposed against any monitoring company that fails to verify alarm system signals as required in § 53-11C(3).

A fee in the amount of $200 is hereby imposed against an alarm installation company if the alarm administrator determines that an employee of the alarm installation company knowingly made a false statement concerning the inspection of an alarm site or the performance of an alarm system.

Notice of the right of appeal under this chapter will be included with notice of any fee.

All registration fees, renewal registration fees, service fees or fines assessed under this section are due within 30 days of written notice unless otherwise noted. A late fee of $10 shall be assessed for each individual registration fee due, and a late fee of $20 for each individual false alarm fee due, that are not paid within 30 days.

In compliance with Borough of Sea Bright Ordinance No. 1-2015, all active volunteer first aid squad and fire company members within the Borough of Sea Bright Fire Department shall be exempt from alarm registration fees. The alarm administrator shall be provided with a list of same on the first of January of each year.

§ 53-14 Notice to alarm users of false alarms and suspension of police response.

The alarm administrator and/or his designee shall notify the alarm user, in writing, after each false alarm. The notice shall include either a warning or the amount of the fee for the false alarm.

The alarm administrator and/or his designee shall notify the alarm user, in writing, 30 days prior to suspension of police response.

§ 53-15 Appeals of determinations regarding alarm permits and fees.

If the alarm administrator and/or his designee assesses a fee, suspends an alarm permit or denies the issuance, renewal or reinstatement of an alarm permit, the alarm administrator shall send written notice of the action to the affected applicant, alarm user, alarm installation company or alarm monitoring company.

The applicant, alarm user, alarm installation company or alarm monitoring company may appeal any action described in Subsection A above to the Chief of Police or designee by setting forth, in writing, the reasons for the appeal and delivering the appeal to the Chief of Police or designee within 20 business days after receipt of notice of the action. Failure to deliver the appeal within that time period is a waiver of the right to appeal.

The procedure for an appeal to the Chief of Police or designee is as follows:

The applicant, alarm user, alarm installation company or monitoring company may file a written request for appeal to the Police Department setting forth the reasons for the appeal.

The Chief of Police and/or designee shall consider the evidence submitted by the appealing party and the alarm administrator and/or his designee. The Chief of Police and/or designee must base the decision on the preponderance of evidence and must render a decision within 15 days of receipt of the written appeal. The decision shall affirm or reverse the decision or action taken by the alarm administrator.

Filing of an appeal stays any action by the alarm administrator and/or his designee to suspend an alarm permit or require the payment of a fee until the appeal process has been exhausted. This provision applies only to the action of the alarm administrator that is the subject of the appeal. This provision does not operate as a bar to enforcement action on violations of this chapter that occur thereafter.

The decision of the Chief of Police is final with regard to any appeal.

The alarm administrator or the Chief of Police, or their respective designees, may adjust the count of false alarms or assessed fees based on:

Evidence that a false alarm was caused by action of a communications services provider (i.e., telephone, cellular, cable company);

Evidence that a false alarm was caused by a power outage or severe weather such as a tornado or earthquake;

Evidence that an alarm dispatch request was not a false alarm;

The occurrence of multiple alarms within in a twenty-four-hour period, which may be considered as one false alarm if the alarm user has taken corrective action unless the false alarms are directly caused by the alarm user.

The alarm administrator may waive all of a false alarm fee or a partial part of the fee due to extenuating circumstances or to encourage corrective action.

On review of fees assessed to an alarm installation company or monitoring company, the alarm administrator, or, if appealed, Chief of Police, and/or his designee, may consider whether the alarm installation company or monitoring company has engaged in a consistent pattern of violations.

§ 53-16 Reinstatement of suspended alarm permits.

On the first suspension of a permit, a person whose alarm permit has been suspended may obtain reinstatement of the permit by the alarm administrator if the person:

Submits a new application and pays a $50 reinstatement fee;

Pays, or otherwise resolves, all outstanding fees and penalties;

Submits a written notice from an alarm installation company stating that the alarm system has been inspected and repaired (if necessary) by the alarm installation company.

On the second and every subsequent suspension of a permit, reinstatement may be obtained by compliance with Subsection A above and compliance with any of the following conditions that the alarm administrator may require:

Proof that an employee of the alarm installation company or monitoring company caused the false alarm.

Upgrade the alarm control panel to meet SIA Control Panel Standard CP-01.

A written statement from an independent inspector designated by the Chief of Police or his designee that the alarm system has been inspected and is in good working order.

Confirmation that all motion detectors are properly configured.

Confirmation that the alarm system requires two independent zones to trigger before transmitting an alarm signal to the monitoring company.

(6)

Confirmation that the alarm system requires two independent detectors to trigger before transmitting an alarm signal to the monitoring company.

(7)

Certification that the monitoring company will not make an alarm dispatch request unless the need for an officer is confirmed by a listen-in device. This condition does not apply to residential property.

(8)

Certification that the monitoring company will not make an alarm dispatch request unless the need for an officer is confirmed by a camera device. This condition does not apply to residential property.

(9)

Certification that the monitoring company will not make an alarm dispatch request unless the need for an officer is confirmed by a person at the alarm site.

The Police Department shall reinstate its response to an alarm site as soon as is practicable after receiving notice of reinstatement from the alarm administrator. The alarm user and monitoring company shall take notice that the alarm site has been officially reinstated only after receiving notice from the alarm administrator and/or his designee of that fact.

§ 53-17 Suspension of police response to an alarm site.

The Chief of Police and/or his designee may suspend police response to an alarm site if it is determined that:

There is a violation of this chapter by the alarm user; and/or

There is a false statement of a material fact in the application for a permit; and/or

The permitted alarm system has generated more than six false alarms during any permit period; and/or

The alarm user has failed to pay an alarm permit fee or late fee, a late renewal fee or any fee assessed under this chapter, more than 30 days after the fee is due. This applies to all classifications of alarms including burglary, panic, duress, holdup and robbery.