Township of Mullica, NJ Alarm Systems

Any central alarm monitoring station which monitors alarm equipment located in the Township of Mullica must register with the Township of Mullica and thereafter report each alarm connected to it which originates from the Township of Mullica. A central alarm monitoring station must call in all alarms reported that are registered in the Township of Mullica. Reporting of alarms must include the alarm registration number and address of the property transmitting the alarm.

§ 71-2 Time limit for audible alarms.

All owners or lessees must equip audible alarms with a timing device which will limit the period during which the alarm will sound to 15 minutes.

§ 71-3 Registration of equipment and systems; failure to register.

All owners or lessees of alarm equipment, using the services of a central alarm monitoring station, must register with the Township of Mullica prior to the installation of the alarm system. Owners or lessees of existing alarm systems, using the services of a central alarm monitoring station, must register with the Township of Mullica within 60 days from the effective date of this article. There shall be no fee charged for registration of alarm systems. Any owner or lessee who fails to register within the prescribed period shall disconnect the alarm system and shall discontinue using the services of any central alarm monitoring station. Central alarm monitoring stations must also register with the Township of Mullica. (Registration will permit the Township of Mullica to contact the owner, lessee or their representatives in the event of an emergency.) Owners or lessees of alarm equipment, not using the services of a central alarm monitoring station, must comply with §§ 71-2, 71-4, 71-10, 71-11, 71-12 and 71-13 of this article.

§ 71-4 Voice recordings prohibited.

Alarm equipment which utilizes voice recordings is prohibited from dialing any telephone lines utilized by the Township of Mullica.

§ 71-5 Alarm equipment suppliers defined; registration.

"Alarm equipment suppliers" are defined as any person, company, corporation or organization who or which operates a central alarm and monitoring station or who or which sells, installs, leases, maintains, repairs or services an alarm system within the Township of Mullica. Individual property owners or lessees of alarm systems who maintain alarm systems for their own use are not to be considered suppliers under this section. Any alarm equipment supplier must register with the Township of Mullica and obtain an annual mercantile license through the Township Clerk's office.

§ 71-6 Mercantile license fees.

The mercantile license fee for an alarm equipment supplier shall be $100.

§ 71-7 Distribution of ordinance and forms.

Any alarm equipment supplier doing business in the Township of Mullica must provide the purchaser or lessee of said equipment with a copy of this article and the forms necessary for registering with the Township of Mullica.

§ 71-8 Availability of repair service.

Each registered alarm equipment supplier shall make service available on a twenty-four-hour-per-day basis, seven days a week, to repair said alarm systems or to correct any malfunction that may occur.

§ 71-9 Repair information; responsibility to repair.

At the time of installation, the alarm equipment supplier shall furnish to any buyer or lessee written information as to how repair service may be obtained at any time, including the telephone number of the alarm system supplier or agent responsible for service. The buyer or lessee and the alarm equipment supplier shall be responsible for having the device disconnected or repaired immediately upon notice that the alarm system is not functioning properly.

§ 71-10 Disconnection of defective systems.

When alarm systems fail to comply with the operational requirements set forth and the Township of Mullica Communications Department has concluded that the alarm system should be disconnected in order to relieve the burden of responding to false alarms, the Supervising Telecommunicator is authorized to require that the owner or lessee or their representative disconnect the alarm system until it is made to comply with the operational requirements. Any notification requesting disconnection of an alarm system shall be by certified mail with return receipt requested. If disconnection of the defective alarm is not accomplished promptly and the Supervising Telecommunicator determines that the malfunctioning alarm system is repeatedly sending false alarms, the violations and penalties stated in § 71-12 of this article will apply.

§ 71-11 False alarms.

For the purpose of defraying the costs to the Township of Mullica of responding to a false alarm, the owner or lessee of an alarm system shall, as a condition of operation, be permitted five false alarms in each calendar year. After that, such owner, lessee or user shall pay to the Township of Mullica $50 for each false alarm originating from the system. This sum shall be and constitute a civil claim by the Township of Mullica and does not affect the penalty provisions of § 71-12.

§ 71-12 Violations and penalties.

Failure of any person, company, corporation or organization to comply with the requirements of this article, except § 71-11, shall, upon conviction in Municipal Court, be subject to a fine of $25 for a first offense, $50 for a second offense and $100 for a third and each offense thereafter. Each day's failure to comply with such provision shall constitute a separate violation.

Repeated failure of an alarm equipment supplier to comply with the requirements of this article may, after notice and an opportunity to be heard, result in the suspension or revocation of the supplier's mercantile license by Township Council.