[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Board of the Charter Township
of Oakland 7-11-1994 by Ord. No. 64 (Ch. 2, Art. V, Div. 2, of the 2007
Code of Ordinances). Amendments noted where applicable.]
A.
It is the intent of this chapter to deter false alarms, and to provide
for the reimbursement to the Township for the expense of responding
to false alarms, and to establish a lien, and for the collection of
a civil fee in the event of a failure to pay a civil fee as required
under this chapter.
B.
The civil fees required to be paid under this chapter are authorized
by Section 6a of Act 33 of the Public Acts of 1951 (MCLA § 41.806a),
and other statutes and laws of the state.
The civil fees required under this chapter shall apply in addition
to any other civil or criminal law or ordinance.
The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this chapter,
shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where
the context clearly indicates a different meaning:
The activation of any alarm signaling for a response by Township
personnel, including police and/or fire, and including contracted
personnel, where there is no reasonable basis for believing that a
condition exists for which an emergency response from the Fire or
Police Department is necessary or appropriate.
Any human being, partnership, corporation, association, or
any other entity recognized by the law, and/or any combination thereof,
who is the owner and/or the occupant of the premises where the alarm
is situated.
A.
A person shall be obligated to pay the civil fees required in this
chapter if a false alarm is intentionally activated by such person.
B.
A person shall be obligated to pay the civil fees required in this
chapter if a false alarm is activated by such person as a result of
mistake, mechanical failure, malfunction, improper installation, lack
of prudent maintenance, or negligence of the occupant or the occupant's
agents, employees or contractors, with regard to a residence and/or
building or portion of a building in which the alarm is activated.
C.
(1)
One false alarm caused during any ninety-day period shall not result
in an obligation to pay a civil fee under this chapter;
(2)
The Township Supervisor shall be authorized to waive the obligation
to pay a civil fee under this chapter if reliable written evidence
is presented demonstrating all of the following:
(a)
The false alarm resulted exclusively from a mechanical malfunction;
(b)
A waiver of a civil fee under this chapter has never been granted
with respect to the premises in question;
(c)
The cause of the mechanical malfunction has been fully and completely
repaired, or a new alarm system has been installed; and
(d)
It is certified that the alarm system is in good and workable
condition, and it is reasonably anticipated that the system will function
properly in the foreseeable future.
In the event of the obligation to pay a civil fee under this
chapter, a civil fee in the amount of $100 shall be payable within
30 days of the date of the notice of such obligation to the obligated
party.
A.
A notice of the obligation to pay a civil fee under this chapter
shall be transmitted by regular mail to the person obligated to pay,
using the last known address for such person at the premises at which
the false alarm occurred. Such address shall be based upon the address
on the tax records of the Township for the premises in question.
B.
If a civil fee has not been fully paid within 30 days of the date
of the notice, the fee shall be deemed to be delinquent. A penalty
of 5% of the unpaid amount of the fee shall be added during the first
month or any part of the first month following delinquency, and an
additional penalty of 1 1/2% per month shall be added on the
unpaid balance thereafter.
C.
A delinquent civil fee under this chapter shall constitute a lien
on the property at which the false alarm occurred. On or before September
1 of each year, the delinquent and unpaid civil fee obligations shall
be presented by the Township Clerk to the Township board for certification
as being delinquent, and upon such certification, the delinquent fees
shall be placed upon the general property tax roll of the Township
in relation to the respective properties at which the false alarms
occurred, and collected with the general Township taxes.
