Skip to main content
Loading…
This section is included in your selections.

A. Every alarm subscriber and proprietor alarm owner shall apply for and receive an alarm subscriber permit from the Fire Department for a fire alarm, and from the Police Department for all other alarms. Application shall be made with the Police or Fire Department, as applicable, for a permit within ten days of the installation date of a new alarm system. Alarm subscriber permit applications will be on forms approved by the Police or Fire Department, as applicable, and shall be accompanied by a seventeen dollar permit fee. An alarm subscriber permit is valid for one year and may be renewed for additional one-year periods on application and payment of an annual seventeen dollar renewal fee. An alarm subscriber permit shall be kept within the premises protected by the alarm and shall be available for inspection by the Police or Fire Department. Permits are not transferrable from one subscriber or proprietor to another subscriber or proprietor, or from one address to another address. A separate permit is required for each address. No refund or proration of the permit fee or annual renewal fee will be made.

B. A residential alarm subscriber or proprietor alarm owner who is on an annual fixed limited income that is at or below the Federal Poverty Guidelines and is the primary resident of the residence, shall be issued an alarm subscriber permit without payment of the permit or renewal fee if no business is conducted in the residence and the applicant submits a completed permit application and a copy of a document verifying the applicant’s income. For the purposes of this subsection, "fixed limited income" means the amount of verifiable income as defined by the Department of Health and Human Services Annual HHS Poverty Guidelines.

C. Alarm systems that are operated by the County, State or Federal government and installed on premises which such entity occupies or uses for governmental purposes shall not be subject to this Article. However, such entity shall apply for and obtain a permit for each alarm system it operates, which shall be issued without payment of the permit or renewal fee.

D. If an alarm subscriber has multiple alarm systems at one location, an alarm subscriber permit and seventeen dollar fee are required for each system. For the purposes of this Article:

1. The tenant of an apartment or other rental property who installs, purchases or rents an alarm system shall be deemed to be the alarm subscriber.

2. The owner of an apartment or other rental property that has an existing alarm system shall be deemed to be the alarm subscriber. Each apartment unit shall be considered a separate address. The common areas or offices of the apartment complex will be considered one address.

3. Each control panel constitutes a separate alarm system and requires a separate alarm subscriber permit and seventeen dollar fee.

E. When the Police Department has recorded an alarm for a subscriber or proprietor alarm owner who has not applied for an alarm subscriber permit in accordance with the provisions of this Article:

1. The Police Department shall send the alarm subscriber or proprietor alarm owner and the alarm business that called in the alarm to the Police or Fire Department a warning stating that they are in violation of the provisions of this Article. The warning will direct the alarm subscriber or proprietor alarm owner to apply for the alarm subscriber permit within ten days of the date of the warning. The warning shall notify the party that the failure to obtain the alarm subscriber permit shall result in an assessment of a service fee of one hundred five dollars for fire alarm systems, and ninety-six dollars for all other alarm systems, per alarm activation for each alarm which occurs while the alarm system is operated without an alarm subscriber permit.

2. If the alarm subscriber or proprietor alarm owner applies for an alarm subscriber permit as required, the service fee assessment per alarm will not be imposed. If the alarm subscriber or proprietor alarm owner fails to apply for the alarm subscriber permit within ten days of the date of the warning, the Police Department shall notify the alarm subscriber or proprietor alarm owner that the applicable service fee will be assessed for each alarm which occurs while the system is operated without an alarm subscriber permit. The alarm subscriber or proprietor alarm owner may, within twenty days of the date of the mailing of the notice, appeal the initial assessment to the Director of the Police Department by filing a petition with the Director of the Police Department or his designee. The petition shall contain specific defenses, if any, to show why the assessment should not be imposed against the alarm subscriber or proprietor alarm owner.

3. Any petition submitted pursuant to paragraph 2 shall be filed with the Director of the Police Department or his designee within the time specified. If the petition is not timely filed, any notified party shall be deemed to have waived the right to any further review or hearing as provided herein and the service fee assessment shall be final.

4. If a petition is timely filed pursuant to paragraph 2, the Director of the Police Department or his designee shall review the specific defenses set forth in the petition. If it is determined that a valid defense to the initial assessment has been set forth, a notice will be sent to the alarm subscriber or proprietor alarm owner informing them that the initial assessment is reversed. The notice shall specifically set forth the Director of the Police Department’s findings and conclusions.

5. If the Director of the Police Department or his designee determines that a defense to the initial assessment has not been set forth, a notice shall be sent by mail to the alarm subscriber or the proprietor alarm owner informing them that the initial assessment is upheld. The notice of decision shall include the Director of the Police Department’s specific findings and conclusions. The Director of the Police Department decision is subject to appeal pursuant to Section 10-77

6. An alarm subscriber or proprietor alarm owner who fails to apply for an alarm subscriber permit as required by paragraph 1 shall be assessed a service fee for a fire alarm system in the amount of one hundred five dollars, and for all other alarm systems, in the amount of ninety-six dollars for each alarm activation to recover the costs of the Police or Fire response while the alarm or alarm system is operated without an alarm subscriber permit. The alarm subscriber or proprietor alarm owner shall tender the assessed service fee within twenty days of a final determination of assessment pursuant to this section or Section 10-77. If the alarm business did not comply with Section 10-69(G) and submit the required form, the alarm business shall be assessed the service fee. In the event the assessed service fee is not tendered, the unpaid balance of the assessment will be subject to a charge of one and one-half percent per month, compounded monthly.

7. It shall be unlawful for an alarm subscriber or proprietor alarm owner to operate an alarm system without a valid alarm subscriber permit issued in accordance with the provisions of this article. (Ord. No. G-3344, § 15; Ord. No. G-3372, § 1; Ord. No. G-3500, § 3; Ord. No. G-4003, § 19, 1997; Ord. No. G-4378, § 11, 2001; Ord. No. G-5393, § 1, 2009; Ord. No. G-5444, § 3, 2009; Ord. No. G-5495, § 18, 2010)