[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Council of the Town of Phillipsburg 11-25-1986 by Ord. No. O:86-43 (Ch. 3A of the 1969 Code). Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Police Department — See Ch. 105.
Noise — See Ch. 384.
The purpose of this chapter is to establish standards and regulations concerning the installation, operation and maintenance of certain alarm systems within the Town of Phillipsburg.
A. 
Any person who desires to own, operate, lease or maintain an alarm system in the Town shall file a registration permit annually. The permit shall contain the location of the alarm system, the installer's name and address, the type of device, information relating to false alarms and testing procedures, a list of names and addresses and telephone numbers of persons to be contacted in the event of an alarm and such other information as may be required by the Police Department.
B. 
The Police Department shall issue a registration permit for the ownership, operation or maintenance of an alarm system to any person desiring to own, operate, lease or maintain an alarm system, if the Police Department is satisfied that the registration information is complete and that the alarm system is capable of being operated in conformance with this chapter. The registration permit may be granted subject to any special conditions stated thereon, if this is deemed necessary by the Police Department.
C. 
A registration permit shall be valid only for the calendar year in which it is issued, provided that all required amendments thereto have been filed. A registration permit shall automatically terminate upon a change in occupancy for the premises for which the permit was issued.
D. 
Any permit granted hereunder shall be accepted upon the express condition that the registrant shall indemnify and hold the Town harmless from and on account of any and all damages arising out of the activities of the registrant, its alarm contractor or the alarm console licensee of the Town.
E. 
A fee of $10 shall be paid when filing for a registration permit. The permit application shall be submitted no later than January 31 of each year or within 30 days of installation of the system.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
ALARM CONSOLE
The console or control panel of devices giving a visual or audio response, or both, and located within the confines of the Police Department.
ALARM SYSTEM
Any device employed to call attention to or provide warning of intrusion by any person or by fire, smoke, flood or other peril, whether the same provides a visual or audio response, alarm or warning.
AUDIBLE ALARM
An alarm system which, when actuated, emits a sound which can be heard beyond the boundaries of the premises on which it is located.
DIAL ALARM
The type of automatic telephone dialing service using the telephone system to transmit an alarm of intrusion, fire, smoke, flood or other peril to the Police Department or any third party.
DIRECT ALARM
An alarm device which has a direct line to an alarm console.
FALSE ALARM
Any alarm or signal of an alarm actuated by the inadvertence, negligence or intentional or unintentional act of a person other than an intruder, and including alarms caused by mechanical failure, malfunction or improper installation of the alarm system and related equipment. "False alarms" shall not include activations caused by power or phone line interruptions where such interruptions have been reported to the Police Department.
LOCAL ALARM
Any alarm device, other than a direct or dial alarm, which, when actuated, produces an external emergency signal.
PERSON
Any individual, person, firm, association, partnership, corporation, organization or club.
REGISTRANT
Any person owning, operating, leasing or maintaining an alarm system within the scope of this chapter who has been issued a registration permit to operate and maintain such alarm system.
The provisions of this chapter shall apply to any person who owns, operates, leases or maintains any alarm system situated in the Town if the alarm system has an audible signaling device or a device which requires a response by the Police Department, Fire Department, Emergency Squad or other Borough agency. The provisions of this chapter shall in no way prohibit service by a private source to persons within or without the Town so long as such activity is not in violation of this chapter, and provided further that any person owning, operating, leasing or maintaining a premises protected by an alarm system shall be responsible for the registration thereof in accordance with this chapter.
Any connection to the police alarm console shall be of a type inspected and approved by the Chief of Police or his designated representative.
All components of an alarm system shall be maintained in good repair and shall operate in a proper manner. When evidence exists that there has been failure to comply with the maintenance and operation requirements of this chapter, the Police Department shall then be authorized to demand that such alarm system be disconnected until such time as compliance with the provisions of this chapter has been established. The Police Department shall have the right to disconnect any malfunctioning equipment from any alarm system until such time as the malfunction has been corrected and the alarm system is operating in accordance with the provisions of this chapter.
All audible signaling devices shall be equipped with a timing device to limit the sounding of the signaling device to 15 minutes or less.
A. 
In the case of a false alarm or of improper maintenance or operation of an alarm system, any person having knowledge thereof shall immediately notify the Police Department. The Police Department shall cause an investigation to be made of all false alarms and of all improper maintenance or operation of alarm systems and shall keep a record of such false alarms on file. For such alarms, the following penalties shall prevail:
[Amended 9-21-2004 by Ord. No. O:2004-23]
(1) 
For the first and second false alarm in the same calendar year, a warning shall be issued.
(2) 
For the third and fourth false alarm in the same calendar year, a penalty shall be assessed in accordance with the local Violations Bureau schedule.
(3) 
For the fifth or all subsequent false alarms in the same calendar year, a penalty shall be assessed in accordance with the local Violations Bureau schedule.
B. 
Where the investigation of the Police Department discloses a continued disregard by the owner for taking remedial steps for avoiding false alarms or for continued failure to maintain or operate an alarm system, the Police Department shall have the right to require the disconnection of the alarm system for a limited or permanent time, giving the owner an opportunity to show cause to the Police Department why such action should not be taken. A person aggrieved by the decision of the Police Department shall have the right to appeal said decision of the Business Administrator within 10 days of the decision.
C. 
The Town of Phillipsburg and the Phillipsburg Board of Education are hereby exempt from this chapter.
[Added 10-4-2005 by Ord. No. O:2005-33]
Any person who shall violate any of the terms or provisions of this chapter or who shall commit or do any act or thing in this chapter prohibited shall, upon conviction thereof before the Municipal Court, be punished as provided in Chapter 1, General Provisions, Article II, General Penalty.