[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Council of the Borough of Leonia 9-8-1975 by Ord. No. 760 (Ch. 73 of the 1982 Code). Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Police Department — See Ch. 49, Art. I.
Fees — See Ch. 123.
Smoke detectors in multiple dwellings, hotels, etc. — See Ch. 136, Art. II.
The terms as used herein are defined as follows:
ALARM DEVICE
Any mechanism which shall transmit a signal to Borough police headquarters, either to the alarm panel or designated dial-alarm telephone lines.
ALARM PANEL
The approved console or annunciator control panel installed in the Borough police headquarters, pursuant to the provisions of this chapter, for the purpose of providing a visual and audible response to alarm systems.
ALARM SYSTEM
A device or series of devices or local alarms whose purpose is the giving of visual or audible warning, or both, of an emergency, such as burglary, intrusion, fire, smoke, flood or like perils.
DIAL ALARM
A precoded alarm device which uses the public telephone facility to transmit a message to a designated telephone line in the Borough police headquarters.
FALSE ALARM
A signal, message or warning transmitted to police headquarters which is stimulated by causes other than those for which the system is specifically designed to respond.
LICENSEE
The person or business holding the license to install, operate, make connections to and maintain the alarm panel or console in the Borough police headquarters.
LOCAL ALARM
Any alarm system mechanism which does not transmit a signal to the Borough police headquarters.
PERMITTEE
Any person or business holding a permit to operate an alarm system.
A. 
One reputable alarm system business shall be chosen by the governing body as the licensee. The governing body shall choose the licensee after competitive bidding. The potential licensee shall bid for the privilege of connecting an alarm panel in Borough police headquarters and for the amount of a fee to be charged for connections made thereto. The licensee shall be approved by Underwriters' Laboratories, Inc. or another reputable electronic approval organization and shall agree to maintain the alarm panel and make necessary repairs within eight hours of notification by the Leonia Police Department of any operational difficulty.
B. 
The licensee shall provide an alarm panel and maintain said panel and have the sole authority to connect alarm systems to the panel. The licensee shall not refuse to connect any alarm device for which a permit has been issued. For this service, the licensee shall charge a one-time connection fee. The fee amount will be determined upon the governing body's acceptance of the lowest responsible fee bid and shall thereafter, by resolution, adopt the fee and authorize the licensee to charge it.
C. 
The licensee shall assume all liability for or on account of any acts or omissions directly or indirectly related to the installation, operation or maintenance of the alarm panel and shall agree to indemnify and save harmless the Borough of Leonia, its officers, agents and employees, for such acts or omissions.
D. 
The licensee shall present the Borough Clerk with a certificate of insurance evidencing the issuance of a comprehensive general liability insurance policy in the minimum amount of $10,000 from an insurance company licensed to transact business in the State of New Jersey. The licensee shall submit a performance bond in the amount of $500,000.
The licensee shall provide a one-hundred-position alarm panel to be installed in police headquarters. Said alarm panel shall be maintained and operated in accordance with the provisions of this chapter.
[Amended 3-18-1985 by Ord. No. 1005]
A. 
Alarm system installer's permit.
(1) 
Every business or person wishing to install or maintain alarm systems with an alarm device for profit within the Borough must obtain a permit as provided hereunder.
(2) 
An application for permit under this section shall be signed by an authorized representative of the applicant, shall be made on forms furnished by the Police Chief and shall contain:
(a) 
Name, address, and telephone number of the applicant;
(b) 
Address of the residence or business in or upon which the alarm device has been or will be installed;
(c) 
A description of the type of alarm system to be installed;
(d) 
The licensed alarm business selling, installing, monitoring, inspecting, servicing, responding, to and for maintaining the alarm device;
(e) 
Name and telephone number of at least one other person who can be reached at any time, day or night, and who is authorized to respond to an alarm signal;
(f) 
An agreement to indemnify the Borough, its officers, agents and employees for or on account of any acts or omissions directly or indirectly related to the installation, operation, or maintenance of the alarm system or connection to the alarm panel.
(3) 
Said permit shall be issued to all persons, applicants, or businesses licensed to install electrical equipment by the Board of Examiners of Electrical Contractors, N.J.S.A. 45:5A-9, provided said application is accompanied by the application fee set forth in § 76-11 of this chapter and the Chief of Police or his designated representative is able to determine the following:
(a) 
That the applicant has demonstrated the ability to comply with the terms of this order;
(b) 
That the applicant, or any owner, partner, officer or local office manager of the applicant do not have a recent record of criminal convictions;
(c) 
That the applicant is currently in good standing with state and local consumer protection agencies.
(4) 
If said permit shall be denied, the reason for denial shall be specified in the notification to the applicant.
B. 
Alarm system permit.
(1) 
Every person or business wishing to have an alarm system with an alarm device on his or her premises shall make application to the Chief of Police for an alarm system permit. Application forms shall be issued by the office of the Chief of Police and shall request:
(a) 
The name and address of the location of the system.
(b) 
A description of the alarm system.
(c) 
The name of the installer.
(d) 
A statement consenting to inspection, at reasonable hours, by the Chief of Police or his designated representative of the premises on which said alarm devices are installed.
(2) 
Said permit shall be issued upon presentation of the application, if the installer named therein has a valid alarm system installer's permit, if the equipment as described is in conformance with this chapter and upon payment of the alarm system permit fee specified in § 76-11.
C. 
Revocation of permits; use of unauthorized equipment.
(1) 
The Chief of Police may revoke any permit issued pursuant to the provisions of this chapter, if the Chief determines that the alarm system has been maintained or operated in violation of the permit or in violation of any provision of this chapter or if there has been a failure to pay the annual fee, after giving to the permit holder written notice and an opportunity to be heard.
(2) 
Upon the discovery of any unauthorized equipment or for noncompliance with this chapter, the Chief of Police or his designated representative may have the equipment disconnected, and any person installing or maintaining unauthorized equipment shall be prosecuted for violation of this chapter.
In addition to the requirements of § 76-4:
A. 
No dial alarm shall be permitted unless, after being approved by the Chief of Police, it shall be installed at the permittee's property with a protective, connecting arrangement, approved by the New Jersey Bell Telephone Company and a test alarm is conducted by or on behalf of the permittee.
B. 
All dial alarms shall be coded to dial a special unlisted telephone number which shall be provided by the Chief of Police. No dial alarm shall be coded to dial the number of the general police switchboard of the Borough.
C. 
All dial alarms shall be coded as well to notify a relative, neighbor or other third party who shall be named in the registration required by this chapter.
D. 
All dial alarms shall be capable of being disconnected by the owner to permit a call to the police switchboard in the event that a false alarm occurs.
E. 
The owner of each dial alarm system shall pay to the Borough an additional annual fee as provided in Chapter 123 to cover the cost of registration and testing and to amortize the cost of the special telephone line or lines required in police headquarters and the ancillary tape devices necessitated by these systems.
F. 
If any person has a dial alarm in existence at the time of the adoption of this chapter, he shall have 30 days in which to reprogram the equipment to comply with the terms of this chapter and in which to pay the annual fee. Any person failing to comply herewith shall be liable to the penalty, upon conviction in the Municipal Court, set forth in Chapter 1, Article I, General Penalty.
G. 
If any dial alarm shall hereafter be found to be dialing the general police headquarter's number rather than the special telephone number reserved for dial alarms, the occupant of the building or other person in whose name the telephone is listed shall be sent a notice, in writing, by the Chief of Police requiring compliance with the terms of this chapter. If the occupant or telephone subscriber shall fail within 30 days after receipt of said notice to comply, he shall be liable for a penalty, upon conviction in the Municipal Court, as set forth in Chapter 1, Article I, General Penalty.
H. 
The contents of any recorded message from a dial alarm must be intelligible and in a format approved by the Chief of Police. No such message shall be transmitted more than three times as a result of a single stimulus of the mechanism. Messages shall not exceed 15 seconds, and the time gap between delivery shall be approximately 10 seconds.
I. 
The sensory mechanism of dial alarms shall be adjusted so as to suppress false alarms and not to be actuated by impulses due to pressure changes in water pipes, short flashes of light, wind, noises, rattling or vibration of doors or windows or other forces unrelated to general alarms.
J. 
All components of dial alarms shall be maintained by the owner in a sound manner. When evidence exists that there has been failure to comply with the operational requirements of this chapter, the Chief of Police is then authorized to notify the owner that such device be disconnected until such time as compliance with such requirements is reestablished.
A. 
No person shall install, operate or maintain any alarm system unless the alarm system has been registered with the Chief of Police as follows:
(1) 
The alarm system of each permittee shall be deemed registered at such time as the permit therefor is issued.
(2) 
In successive years following the issuance of a permit, an alarm system shall be deemed registered when the annual alarm fee is remitted to the Borough and the system has been approved by the Chief of Police.
(3) 
A local alarm system shall be deemed registered when the occupant of the building in which it is installed shall have filed with the Chief of Police a registration form which shall include, among other data, the location of the device and its controlling switch or key, the name of the installer of said device, the type of device, provisions relating to testing procedures, a list of persons to be contacted in the event of an alarm and other reasonable information as may be required by the Chief.
B. 
No further or renewed registration shall be required unless and until there has occurred any material change in the information previously submitted with respect to any alarm system. It shall be the duty of the occupant of a building served by an alarm system, within 10 days after a change in information previously submitted to the Borough shall have occurred, to file a supplemental or revised registration containing accurate current information with respect to the data required by the registration form.
C. 
No charge shall be made for filing of any registration or any amended, revised or supplemental registration.
The licensee and each permittee shall be responsible on a twenty-four-hour per day basis for service to equipment owned by the licensee and the permittee. Such service shall be provided within the eight-hour period next following notification by the Police Department of any malfunctioning of equipment.
Whenever, under the provisions of this chapter, the Chief of Police or any authorized representative he may have designated is empowered to make a decision with respect to the installation, operation and maintenance of any alarm equipment or with respect to the issuance or denial of any application relating thereto or revocation of a permit, and person aggrieved by said decision may, within 10 days following said decision, file a written appeal therefrom with the Board of Police Commissioners, who shall promptly conduct a hearing and affirm, modify or reverse the decision.
The Chief of Police may, from time to time, promulgate rules and regulations supplementing this chapter in order to provide for record keeping and efficient management of said system; provided, however, that said rules and regulations or any revisions thereof shall not take effect until first approved by resolution of the governing body of the Borough.
The fees set forth in Chapter 123, Fees, payable January 1 of each year, beginning on January 1, 1976, and prorated on a quarterly basis in the event of installation in the course of a year, are established to defray additional expenses incurred as a result of private alarm systems.
A. 
For any and all violations of this chapter not otherwise specifically provided for herein, upon conviction in a court of competent jurisdiction, a convicted offender may be liable for a penalty as set forth in Chapter 1, Article I, General Penalty. For the purposes of this section, each violation of this chapter shall be considered a separate offense.
B. 
In the case of the false alarm, the Chief of Police or Fire Marshal will cause an investigation and keep a record of said alarm on file.[1]
[Added 8-19-2004 by Ord. No. 17-04]
[1]
Editor’s Note: See also § 76-14, False alarms, for fines and penalties regarding false alarms.
[Added 8-19-2004 by Ord. No. 17-04]
All persons responsible for an alarm system within the Borough shall notify the Police Department before any tests or repairs of the system commence and after completion of the same. Notification shall be made through the central station for central alarms so that police response may be canceled appropriately.
[Added 8-19-2004 by Ord. No. 17-04; amended 12-17-2007 by Ord. No. 19-07]
The Police Department shall cause a record to be made of all false alarms, except for fire alarms, which shall be tracked by the Fire Department. In any calendar year, the following penalties shall apply to the person responsible for any alarm device:
A. 
For the first through fourth false alarms, a written warning shall be issued.
B. 
For the fifth false alarm, there shall be imposed a fine of $100.
C. 
For the sixth false alarm, there shall be imposed a fine of $150.
D. 
For the seventh and subsequent false alarms, there shall be imposed a fine of $200 for each such false alarm.
[Added 8-19-2004 by Ord. No. 17-04]
All other ordinances of the Borough of Leonia which are in conflict with this chapter are hereby repealed to the extent of such conflict.
[Added 8-19-2004 by Ord. No. 17-04]
A. 
The provisions of this chapter are severable, and if any sentence, section or other part of this chapter should be found to be invalid, such invalidity shall not affect the remaining provisions, and the remaining provisions shall continue in full force and effect. In the event any part or provision of this chapter is held to be illegal or void, this shall not have the effect of making void or illegal any of the other parts or provisions thereof which are determined to be legal; and is shall be presumed that this chapter would have passed without such illegal or invalid parts or provisions.
B. 
Any invalid part or provision of this chapter shall be segregated from the remainder of this chapter by the court holding such part invalid, and the remainder shall remain effective.
[Added 8-19-2004 by Ord. No. 17-04]
This chapter shall take effect upon final adoption and publication of notice of adoption as required by law.