[HISTORY: Adopted by the Village Board of the Village of Orfordville 3-31-1992
as Title 5, Ch. 4 of the 1992 Code. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Fire prevention — See Ch. 168.
This chapter shall be known as the "Village of Orfordville 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 have the meaning given herein:
Any business in which the owners or employees engage in the activity
of altering, installing, leasing, maintaining, repairing, replacing, selling,
or servicing alarm systems.
An assembly of equipment and devices or single device such as a solid
state unit which plugs directly into a 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.[1]
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.
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.
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.
An alarm system in which the signal transmission is initiated by
the action of the robber.
Refers to an alarm system which signals an entry or attempted entry
into the area protected by the system.
An office to which remote alarm and supervisory signaling devices
are connected, where operators supervise the circuits.
An alarm system which has the capability of transmitting system signals
to the Police or Fire Department.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
A.
No alarm business or alarm system designed to transmit
emergency messages to the Police Department shall be tested or demonstrated
without prior notification and approval of the Police Department dispatcher.
Alarm businesses or alarm system owners or lessors will be advised on proper
test procedure.
B.
No alarm system relayed through intermediate services
to the Police Department will be tested to determine the Police Department's
response without first notifying the appropriate authority. However, the Police
Department may inspect or test on-site alarm systems authorized under this
chapter.
C.
Alarm systems shall be in compliance with all pertinent
response policies of the Police Department.
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.
A.
Generally. Each false alarm requires response of public
safety personnel, involves unnecessary expense to the Village, increases the
risk of injury to persons or damage to property and dilutes the overall public
safety protection to the Village. Such false alarms constitute a public nuisance
and must be abated.
B.
Intentional. No person shall intentionally cause the
activation of a burglar/fire alarm device knowing that no criminal activity,
fire or other emergency exists.
C.
Administrative charges.
(1)
Any person, business, corporation or other entity having
a permissible alarm system with alarm device(s) at one or more locations in
accordance with this chapter shall pay to the Village a charge for false alarms
responded to by the Police or Fire Department according to the following schedule
for each calendar year for each location connected, separate accounts to be
kept for false alarms as to criminal activity and false alarms for fire or
other emergencies:
(2)
This Subsection C is intended to impose a strict liability on the person, business, corporation or other entity responsible for alarm connection to either the police alarm panel or to an alarm receiving firm to which the Police or Fire Department has responded and shall be applied regardless of the cause of the false alarm, excepting those alarms excluded from the definition of "false alarm." Failure to pay such administrative charge(s) in and of itself shall constitute a violation of this section, and such charge(s) shall be collectible as a forfeiture upon prosecution and conviction thereof, together with an additional forfeiture(s) which may be imposed under Subsection D hereof for violation of this section for allowing or maintaining a condition(s) or act(s) violative of the intent of this section of eliminating and minimizing the occurrence of false alarms, together with costs of prosecution.
D.
Other violations. Any person, corporation or other entity violating this chapter in any manner, other than for collection of unpaid administrative charges treated in the preceding Subsection C of this section, shall be subject to forfeiture as provided in Chapter 1, General Provisions, § 1-5 of this Code. When any premises located in the Village is owned, leased or occupied by two or more persons as joint tenants, tenants in common, joint lessees, or in any other manner, each person shall see that the provisions of this chapter are complied with, and each person may be subjected to a penalty on violation of this section.
E.
Default of payment for forfeiture and/or costs. On default of payment of forfeiture and/or costs under the immediately preceding Subsection C and/or D, such person or responsible officer of the violating corporation or other entity shall be confined in the county jail until the same is paid, but not to exceed a length of time specified by the court, which length of time shall not exceed six months. Upon nonpayment of the fee, the amount due may be placed on the tax roll as a special charge pursuant to § 66.0627, Wis. Stats.
The Village of Orfordville 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 section in no way
shall be construed that it is not the proper function of law enforcement to
respond to alarms.[1]
