[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Council of the Borough of Ridgefield 5-8-2006
by Ord. No. 1986.[1] Amendments noted where applicable.]
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance repealed former Ch. 118, Alarm
Systems, adopted 3-6-1978 by Ord. No. 1087, as amended.
It is the intent and purpose of the Mayor and Council of the Borough
of Ridgefield to permit its Police Department to more effectively and efficiently
respond to private alarms, to recoup in some part the cost of responding to
false alarms, and to minimize the amount of time and manpower used to respond
to false alarms.
As used hereinafter, the words and phrases used in this chapter shall
have the following meanings:
The equipment and device designed to signal the presence of an emergency
or hazard requiring urgent attention to or in a structure in the Borough of
Ridgefield and to which the Police and/or Fire Department may be expected
to respond. An alarm system shall not include what are commonly known as "car
alarms."
Any alarm actuated by inadvertence, negligence or unintentional act
of anyone other than an intruder, including alarms caused by malfunctioning
of the alarm device or other equipment, and alarms caused by improper installation
of the alarm system and related equipment.
Any natural person, partnership, corporation, association or any
other legal entity owning an alarm device situated in a structure within the
Borough of Ridgefield which has been registered according to the provisions
of this chapter.
The Chief of Police of the Police Department of the Borough of Ridgefield,
or the Acting Chief of Police of the Police Department of the Borough of Ridgefield,
or his designated representative, which designated representative shall be
a police officer of the Borough of Ridgefield.
A.
No person shall install, operate or maintain any alarm
system unless the alarm system has been registered with the Chief of Police.
Registration shall be accomplished by completing and filing with the Chief
of Police an application for registration.
B.
The registration application for each alarm system shall
include the following information:
(1)
A description by type of the alarm system and a description
of the method or methods used to activate the alarm system.
(2)
A description of the signal transmitted or emitted by
the alarm system and the duration of that signal.
(3)
The alarm business which installed the alarm system.
(4)
The name, address and telephone number of three persons
who can be contacted by the Ridgefield Police Department in the event that
the alarm system must be turned off, and who will have the ability to turn
off said alarm system in the absence of the owner or occupier of the premises.
(5)
The name, address and telephone number of the person
or persons who maintain or service the alarm system.
C.
Each alarm system shall be deemed registered when the
application for registration is reviewed and accepted by the Chief of Police.
The Borough hereby determines that registrations shall be granted in blocks
of time of two calendar years, the first such two-year block to commence on
January 1, 2006, and subsequent blocks to commence on January 1st, 24 months
after the prior block expires. A registration shall be granted from the date
the application is accepted by the Chief of Police and shall run to the end
of the then active two-year time block.
(1)
If an alarm system has not been previously registered,
the fee for the initial registration shall be $30.
(2)
Once an alarm system has been registered, subsequent
registrations shall be deemed to be renewal registrations and the fee for
same shall be $10. Renewal registrations shall provide that the information
previously provided on the prior registration form remains accurate and correct,
or shall specify the changes since the filing of the prior registration form.
(3)
All registrants are obligated to immediately notify the
Police Department of changes in the information in the registration form as
those changes occur.
A failure to register an alarm system located in a structure by and
within the Borough of Ridgefield shall constitute a violation of this ordinance
subject to the punishment of a fine of between $50 and $1,000.
If the audible noise or visible light from a local alarm continues to be emitted from the premises for a period of more than 30 consecutive minutes following the response of the police, and following efforts to contact these persons specified in § 118-3B(4), then anytime thereafter the police or other emergency personnel may enter the premises by force or otherwise in order to deactivate such alarm, and following such deactivation shall secure the premises to the extent reasonably possible. In such event, no member of the Police Department or other officials of the Borough of Ridgefield shall be responsible to the property owner or other person occupying the property from any damages resulting from the forced entry, providing that the forced entry was reasonable and as set forth in this section.
A.
In the case of a false alarm, any person having knowledge
that the alarm signal does not represent a hazard or emergency shall immediately
notify the Police Department by whatever means are available. In recognition
of the fact that false alarms cause the police to respond notwithstanding
that there is no emergency or hazard at the premises, the Borough hereby establishes
the following service fees for response to false alarms. The number of false
alarms in connection with the below schedule shall be measured on a calendar-year
basis, from January 1 to December 31 of each year:
B.
The property owner shall be given written notice of the
false alarm and the imposition of the service charge. The property owner shall
pay the service charge no later than 30 days from the receipt of the notice
of the service charge. Any person who believes that a surcharge has been imposed
against that person in violation of this chapter may file a written request
for a hearing on that issue before the Chief of Police or his designee, but
must do so within 15 days of receipt of the notice of the service charge.
The time in which to pay the service charge shall be tolled by the filing
of a written request for a hearing, and shall remain tolled until the decision
of the Chief of Police or his designee on the appeal.
In the event the service charge is not paid within 30 days of receipt of the notice (as extended by the timely filing of a request for a hearing), the failure to timely pay shall constitute a violation of this chapter which shall be punishable by a fine of between $50 and $100. The summons and complaint charging the offense under this section shall cite ordinance § 118-7 as the authority for the violation.
The Chief of Police may from time to time promulgate reasonable rules
and regulations consistent with the provisions of this chapter in order to
provide for the efficient operation of the registration of alarm systems pursuant
to this chapter.
