HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrdinance 1991 (274) FALSE ALARM ORDINANCE
ORDINANCE NO. 274 (91)
ST. CROIX COUNTY, WISCONSIN
WHEREAS, the St. Croix County Emergency Communications Center dispatches
public protection agencies, including the St. Croix County Sheriffs Department, to
emergency alarms at business and residential locations within the County, and;
WHEREAS, many responses are to false alarms caused by mechanical failure,
malfunction, improper installation, or maintenance, or improper use of alarm systems; and
WHEREAS, the St. Croix County Public Protection Committee desires to promote
the proper installation, maintenance.and use of alarm systems and reduce the number of
responses to false alarms;
NOW THEREFORE, the St. Croix County Board of Supervisors, meeting in regular
session, hereby ordains as follows:
(1) DEFINITIONS
For purposes of this ordinance, the following definitions shall apply:
(a) Alarm Business: A business which directly or indirectly sells, leases, provides,
maintains, monitors, services, repairs, alters, replaces, moves or installs any
alarm system.
(b) Alarm System: An assembly of equipment and devices (or a single device
such as a solid state unit which plugs directly into a 110 volt AC line)
arranged to signal the presence of a hazard to which public safety agencies
are expected to respond. In this ordinance the term "alarm system" shall
include the terms "burglar alarm system," "fire alarm system," "holdup /panic
alarm system ", and "smoke detection alarm system ", as those terms are
hereinafter defined.
(c) Alarm User: Any person who owns or occupies a premises within the County
in which an alarm system is used.
(d) Answering Service: Any telephone answering service which receives
emergency signals from alarm systems and immediately relays a request by
live voice to the County Emergency Communications Center for a response.
(e) Automatic Dialing Device: Any device which automatically sends over regular
telephone lines, by direct connection or otherwise, a pre- recorded voice
1
message or coded signal indicating an activated alarm or an emergency
situation that the alarm system is designed to detect.
(f) Burglar Alarm System: Any alarm system which signals an entry or attempted
entry into a building or structure, or portion thereof, protected by the system.
(g) Central Monitoring Station: Any office or facility to which remote alarm
systems are connected, which office or facility is staffed by operators who
receive, record, and /or validate alarm signals and relay the occurrence of such
signals, by live voice, to the Emergency Communications Center.
(h) Direct Line: A telephone line loading directly from a central monitoring
station to the Emergency Communications Center used only to report
emergency signals on a person -to- person basis. Also known as an automatic
ring -down line.
(i) Director: The Director of the Emergency Communications Center, or the
Director's designated representative.
(j) False Alarm: The activation of an alarm system when an emergency situation
does not exist caused by:
(1) The accidental, negligent, or intentional act of an alarm user, or the
alarm user's employee, agent, licensee or invitee; or
(2) Improper manufacture, installation, monitoring, maintenance, or repair.
(k) Fire Alarm System: Any system in which the alarm signal transmission is
initiated automatically or by the direct action of any individual to signal the
presence of smoke, heat, or fire.
(1) Holdup /Panic Alarm System: Any alarm system signaling the unauthorized
entry of a person into a premises which would reasonably be interpreted as
a dangerous situation.
(m) Interconnect: To connect an alarm system to a voice grade telephone line,
either directly or through a mechanical device, for the purpose of using the
telephone line to transmit an emergency message upon the activation of the
alarm system.
(n) Person: Any individual, partnership, association, corporation, or organization
of any kind.
(o) Proprietary System: Any alarm system which directly terminates at a control
center within the protected premises, provided that the control center is
manned by and under the supervision of the proprietor or subordinates of the
F `
protected premises. If the proprietary system includes a signal line connected
directly or by means of an automatic dialing device to a central monitoring
station or answering service, it thereby becomes an alarm system as defined
in this ordinance.
(p) Smoke Detection Alarm System: Any system in which the alarm transmission
is initiated automatically or by the direct action of any individual to signal the
presence of smoke, heat or fire.
(2) AUTOMATIC DIALING DEVICES PROHIBITED
No person shall interconnect, use or cause to be used any automatic dialing device
which automatically selects a public telephone number, including 9 -1 -1, of the County
and relays a pre- recorded message or coded signal indicating the existence of an
activated alarm system. The relaying of messages to the Emergency Communications
Center shall be accomplished only by person -to- person communications. The
Director may approve a direct line installation between a central monitoring sta
or answering service to the Emergency Communications Center at no cost to the
Emergency Communications Center.
(3) DIRECT CONNECTIONS TO THE COUNTY PROHIBITED
No alarm system shall directly terminate in the Emergency Communications Center
(with the exception of alarm systems intended to protect County employees or
County -owned property). Notification of an activated alarm system to the Emergency
Communications Center shall be accomplished only by person -to- person
communications either directly from the alarm user, an observer, or by means of a
central monitoring station or answering service.
(4) TESTING
No alarm system shall be tested or demonstrated without first obtaining approval
from the tele- communicator on duty at the Emergency Communications Center. No
alarm system shall be tested to determine the response time or adequacy of any
public safety agency.
(5) NOTIFICATION
When the service provided by an alarm business to an alarm user is disrupted for any
reason by the alarm business, or the alarm business becomes aware of such
disruption, it shall promptly notify the alarm user by telephone that protection is
disrupted. If, however, the alarm business has written instructions from the alarm
user not to make such notification by telephone during certain hours, the alarm
business may comply with such instructions.
(6) VIOLATIONS
(a) When any public safety agency responds to an alarm that is determined to
have been activated falsely, accidentally or negligently, the alarm user is
subject to forfeitures as set forth below. The procedures set out in the St.
Croix County Citation Ordinance, No. 236(89), shall apply to violations of this
ordinance. Written notice to the alarm owner or lessee as well as written
notice to the monitoring agency will be provided by St. Croix County within
10 days after violation.
(b) Forfeitures for violation of this ordinance shall be assessed in any 12
consecutive months period as follows:
(1) 1st, 2nd and 3rd violation - -no forfeiture
(2) 4th violation- -$100
(3) 5th violation- -$150
(4) Each violation after the fifth violation shall double the amount of the
previous forfeiture. (For example, the 6th violation is $300, the 7th is
$600, the 8th is $1200, and so on.)
(5) After 5th violation must come before law enforcement committee to
show cause as to why alarm should not be removed.
(c) Any person who violates section (2) or (3) is subject to a forfeiture of $100.
Each day the violation exists is considered a separate violation.
(d) If the Director is notified of the date of the installation of a new alarm
system, this ordinance is effective for that alarm system 30 days after date of
installation. If the Director is not notified of the installation of an alarm
system, this ordinance is effective immediately for that alarm system.
(e) The forfeitures in this ordinance are in addition to any charges levied by the
responding agency for actual costs incurred.
(f) This ordinance does not apply to the following:
(1) When an alarm is activated by unforeseeable climatic conditions;
(2) When an alarm is activated by the interruption of utility services;
(3) When a law enforcement officer finds fresh evidence of an
unauthorized entry or attempted entry, or finds a person on the
premises not authorized to be there.
(4) When a fire department finds smoke or fire on the premises or the
activation of an automatic sprinkler system.
(7) COUNTY LIABILITY
St. Croix County, its officers, employees, or agents, disclaims any liability or
obligation to any alarm user or any other person for claims arising from the
installation of, maintenance of, operation of or defects in any alarm system, any
delays in or failure of transmission of any alarm system, or for responding to, delay
in responding to or not responding to any alarm system in the County.
(8) SEVERABILITY
The provisions of this ordinance, all sections and subsections, are to be severable and
the unconstitutionality or illegality of any section or subsection shall not affect the
validity of the remaining sections or subsections. This ordinance does not supersede
any applicable federal or state statutes or regulations that are more restrictive.
(9) EFFECTIVE DATE
This ordinance shall be effective on the day following its official publication.
Dated this day of 1991.
Offered by: PUBLIC PROTECTION COMMITTEE
NEGATIVE AFFIRMATIVE