This chapter shall be known as the "Village of Kimberly Alarm Systems Ordinance."
The purpose of this chapter is to provide minimum standards and regulations applicable to burglar, fire and holdup alarm systems, alarm businesses and alarm users. Both society in general and public safety in particular will be aided by providing a useful and usable system of private security which properly balances quick response by law enforcement with minimization of law enforcement time spent on alarms which are false or otherwise not the intended function of private security systems.
Within this chapter, the following terms, phrases and words and their derivations shall have the meanings given herein.
ALARM BUSINESS Any business in which the owners or employees engage in the activity of altering, installing, leasing, maintaining, repairing, replacing, selling or servicing alarm systems.
ALARM SYSTEM An assembly of equipment and devices or single device such as a solid state unit which plugs directly into one-hundred-ten-volt AC line or otherwise receives electrical energy arranged to signal the presence of a hazard requiring urgent attention and to which the Police or Fire Department is expected to respond. In this chapter, the term "alarm system" shall include the terms "automatic holdup alarm system," "burglar alarm system," and "manual holdup alarm system," as those terms are hereinafter defined, and fire alarm systems which monitor temperature, humidity or any other condition directly related to the detection of fire. Excluded from this definition and from the coverage of this chapter are alarm systems used to alert or signal persons within the premises in which the alarm system is located of an attempted, unauthorized intrusion or holdup attempt or fire.
ANNUNCIATOR The instrumentation of an alarm console at the receiving terminal of a signal line through which both visual and audible signals show when an alarm device at a particular location has been activated or which, in the event of malfunction, may also indicate line trouble.
ANSWERING SERVICE Refers to a telephone answering service providing among its services the service of receiving on a continuous basis through trained employees emergency signals from alarm systems and thereafter immediately relaying the message by live voice to the dispatch center of the Police or Fire Department.
AUTOMATIC DIALING DEVICE Refers to an alarm system which automatically sends over regular telephone lines by direct connection or otherwise a prerecorded voice message or coded signal indicating the existence of the emergency situation that the alarm system is designed to detect.
BURGLAR ALARM SYSTEM Refers to an alarm system which signals an entry or attempted entry into the area protected by the system.
CENTRAL STATION An office to which remote alarm and supervisory signaling devices are connected, where operators supervise the circuits.
DIRECT CONNECT An alarm system which has the capability of transmitting system signals to the Police or Fire Department.
FALSE ALARM The activation of an alarm system through mechanical failure, malfunction, improper installation or the negligence of the owner or lessee of an alarm system or of his employees or agents or other undetermined cause. False alarm does not include alarms caused by tornadoes or other violent climatic conditions.
INTERCONNECT To connect an alarm system to a voice grade telephone line, either directly or through a mechanical device that utilizes a standard telephone, for the purpose of using the telephone line to transmit an emergency message upon the activation of the alarm system.
MANUAL HOLDUP ALARM SYSTEM Refers to an alarm system in which the signal transmission is initiated by the direct action of the person attacked or by an observer thereof.
PRIMARY TRUNK LINE A telephone line leading directly into the dispatch center of the Police or Fire Department that is for the purpose of handling emergency calls on a person-to-person basis and which is identified as such by a specific number included among the emergency numbers listed in the telephone directory or numbers in sequence therewith.
SUBSCRIBER A person who buys or leases or otherwise obtains an alarm system and thereafter contracts with or hires an alarm business to monitor and/or service the alarm system.
The Chief of Police shall promulgate such rules as may be necessary for the implementation of this chapter. Such rules shall require the approval of the Village Board and shall be open to inspection by the public.
No person shall interconnect any automatic dialing device to a Police or Fire Department primary trunk line. No person shall permit such devices which were installed prior to the effective date of this chapter to remain interconnected from any property owned or controlled by that person. Such devices may be connected to a central station or an answering service. Relaying messages so received to the Police or Fire Department shall only be done person to person on the telephone line.
Direct connections to the Police or Fire Department are prohibited but may be authorized pursuant to the direct connection policies of each Department, a copy of which is on file with the Chief of Police and Fire Chief.
When the service provided by an alarm business to its subscribers is disrupted for any reason by the alarm business or the alarm business becomes aware of such disruption, it shall promptly notify its subscribers by telephone that protection is no longer being provided. If, however, the alarm business has written instructions from its subscriber not to make such notification by telephone during certain hours, the alarm business may comply with such instructions.
The Village of Kimberly shall be under no duty or obligation to a subscriber or to any other person concerning any provision of this chapter, including, but not limited to, any defects in an alarm system or any delays in transmission or response to any alarm; however, this in no way shall be construed that it is not the proper function of law enforcement to respond to alarms.