3170 To authorize the charging of fees to : recover the costs of providing police services in response to false alarmsBY-LAW NUMBER 3170
A BY-LAW TO AUTHORIZE THE CHARGING OF FEES TO
RECOVER THE COSTS OF PROVIDING POLICE SERVICES IN
RESPONSE TO FALSE ALARMS
WHEREAS the Corporation of the Town of Tillsonburg (the "Town") has
determined that the Oxford OPP (the "Service") responds annually to a large number
of calls for service initiated by the activation of alarm systems installed in a residential
or commercial premises;
AND WHEREAS many of the activations of such alarm systems constitute false
alarms that do not require a response by the Service;
AND WHEREAS costs are incurred unnecessarily by the Town and the Service in
responding to false alarms and such responses delay attendance by members of the
Service at genuine emergencies;
AND WHEREAS the Town seeks to recover part of the costs of responding to
false alarms;
AND WHEREAS pursuant to Section 391.1 of the Municipal Act, the Town is
authorized to pass by-laws imposing fees or charges on any class of persons for
services and activities provided by or done on behalf of the municipality;
NOW, THEREFORE, THE TOWN, as follows:
A. DEFINITIONS
(1) "ALARM BUSINESS" means any person or persons or Corporation
who engage in the business of installing and/or maintaining Alarm
Systems.
(2) "ALARM SYSTEM" means any device which, when activated,
transmits a signal or message to an Alarm Business or initiates a
telephonic or recorded message which is designed to be transmitted over
regular telephone lines.
(3) "ALARM SUBSCRIBER/USER" means any person who owns, rents
or otherwise occupies premises where an Alarm System is installed and
who is responsible for the use and maintenance of the Alarm System and
includes a person who pays funds to an Alarm Business in exchange for
monitoring of the Alarm System.
(4) "VALID ALARM" is an alarm signal that has been activated for the
purpose for which it was installed such as: warning of an attempted or
completed criminal offence, or an emergency situation in relation to the
premise in which the Alarm System is installed.
(S) "AT FAULT FALSE ALARM" means the activation of an Alarms
System where, in the opinion of the Detachment Commander of the
Service or his/her designate, no emergency or evidence of criminal
activity exists at the premises at which the Alarm System is installed and
includes:
(a) The activating or testing of an alarm without prior notification, and
approval of the Officer in Charge of the Oxford OPP.
(b) An alarm due to mechanical failure or improper installation, an alarm
caused by negligence or carelessness of an Alarm Business, the alarm
installer, the Alarm Subscriber/User, or his/her agent or employee.
(c) An alarm activated due to internal or external atmospheric
conditions, vibrations or power surges.
(d) Includes an alarm where a member of the Service was en mute and
the alarm response was cancelled prior to the member's amval.
(6) "NO FAULT" False Alarm is an alarm that prompts a police response
to a premise where an emergency does not exist and the alarm was
triggered by natural causes or conditions beyond the control of the alarm
user which may include an alarm actually or apparently activated by
atmospheric conditions, excessive vibrations or extended power failure.
(7) "NORMAL BUSINESS HOURS" is the period during which any
premises is open for business and includes one hour prior to opening and
one hour after closing. This time will be obtained from the reporting
alarm business.
(8) "VERIFICATION" occurs when the Alarm Business establishes
whether or not a police response is required by first contacting their
Subscriber to confirm, when possible, if the alarm is genuine.
(9) "NON-RESIDENTIAL PREMISES" means lands, buildings, or
structures used or designated or intended for other than residential use.
(10) "RESIDENTIAL PREMISES" means any building used or intended
solely for use as a residence of one or more individuals.
B. REGISTRATION
(1) Each Alarm System within the Town of Tillsonburg to which a police
response to an alarm is desired, must be registered with the Town of
Tillsonburg.
(2) Alann Registrations will be accepted only from Alarm Businesses.
(3) Alarms must be registered by October 1 of each year in order to
ensure continued police response to alarm calls.
For the initiation of this By -Law, registration for 2005 must be made by
October 1, 2005.
(4) The fee for the annual non-refundable Registration is in accordance
with the schedule listed hereunder. This fee schedule will be reviewed
periodically in accordance with policy established by Corporation of The
Town of Tillsonburg.
For the year 2005/2006 and every subsequent year thereafter:
$50.00 for all alarm monitored household and other
non commercial premises;
$100.00 for all alarm monitored business and commewial
premises;
100.00 for each individually monitored alarm device located
within a premise (e.g. Automatic Teller Machines [A.T.M.'s]).
(5) Every Alarm Subscriber/User wishing a police response to alarms will
ensure that their Alarm System is registered each year with the Town
of Tillsonburg in accordance with the Alarm Registration Policy. The
alarm identification number assigned by the Service to each registered
Alarm System, Alarm Subscriber/User must be provided to police
when reporting an activated alarm.
C. ALARM VERIFICATION
Verification is required for all intrusion alarms or alarms to automatic banking
machines that occur during the normal business hours of the premise involved.
The Alarm Business is responsible for verifying these types of alarms.
Verification may also be requested by the officer responding or the
Officer in Charge of the Oxford OPP when:
(a) an intrusion alarm is activated during normal business hours or when it
is normally expected that authorized persons are, or should be, in the
building.
(b) when the alarm is activated more than once during a responding
officer's tour of duty and the alarm has malfunctioned once in the
evening and continues to malfunction".
(c) when several alarms are activated during a short period of time during
an electrical stoma.
D. REGISTRATION PROCESS
(1) It is the responsibility of the Alarm Business or alarm monitoring
station to notify their customers of this policy. The Town of
Tillsonburg will not directly contact individual Alarm
Subscribers/Users.
Registration fees must be collected by the Alarm Business or alarm
monitoring companies on behalf of their clients and forwarded,
together with a completed Town of Tillsonburg Alarm Registration
Forrn for each Alarm Subscriber/User, to the Town of Tillsonburg, 90
Concession Street East. Tillsonburg, Ontario N4G 4Z8, attention to
the Alarm Co -Coordinator.
(2) Upon receipt of the prescribed registration fee and the Alarm
Registration Form, the Alarm Subscriber/User will be added to the
Town of Tillsonburg Registry. An identification number will be
assigned by the Town of Tillsonburg to each registered Alarm
Subscriber/User. A list of registered Alarm Subscribers/Users with
identification numbers will be returned to the Alarm Business together
with a receipt for payment.
E. FAILURE TO REGISTER ALARM SUBSCRIBER/USER
Failure to register an Alarm Subscriber/User with the Town of Tillsonburg
will result in NON -RESPONSE by police to a reported alarm, unless the
premise has been entered or found to be suspicious in nature upon arrival of
an individual or company representative who reports information to the
police.
F. NOTICES
(1) "SPECIAL CAUTION NOTICE" means a document which may be
issued to an Alarm Business, and/or an Alarm Subscriber/User, after
four (4) "at fault false alarms" at a given location within one calendar
year (365 days). The document shall indicate the premises'
identification number, premises' name and address, date of the fault
false alarms, the incident numbers, and reasons the at fault false alarms
were classified as such.
(2) "SUSPENSION NOTICE" means a document which may be issued
to an Alarm Business and/or an Alarm Subscriber/User after five (5)
"at fault false alarms" which suspends response to any subsequent
alarm at the specified location fourteen (14) days after the date of
such Notice for a period of one calendar year (365 days), subject to
the suspension program in effect.
(3) "RE -INSTATEMENT". A Suspension Notice may be rescinded at
the discretion of the Detachment Commander of the Service or
his/her designate if the Alarm Business or Alarm Subscriber/User
provides in writing to the Service reasons why there were "at fault
false alarms", how the problem which activated the alarms was
corrected and a statement that the Alarm System is now in good
working order, together with a non-refundable fee for reviewing the
request of $100.00.
In the event of acceptance of such valid reasons, the premises will be
re -instated to the status of issuance of a Special Caution Notice for a
period of one calendar year (365 days). A Re -Instatement Notice
Form will be issued to the alarm business.
H. GENERAL
(1) Any fee and any applicable taxes pursuant to this By -Law will be
payable to the Service within thirty (30) days of the date of the
invoice for such fee.
(2) Interest on any unpaid fees or charges will be charged at a rate of two
percent (2%) per month, compounded monthly, for the period from
the due date referred to in sub -section (4) of this section to the date
payment is received by the Service.
(3) Any fees or charges shall be paid by cash, certified cheque or
non -certified cheque in the discretion of the Detachment
Commander at the Service or his/her designate.
(4) If any Alarm Business or Alarm Subscriber/User falls to pay any fees
within sixty (60) days of the date of the invoice, the Service may take
appropriate steps in relation to the collection thereof, which may
include civil action and/or the addition of the charges to the municipal
tax roll. The Detachment Commander of the Service or his/her
designate may then also cause the discontinuation of any response to
the subject premises so long as the payment for fees or charges are in
arrears.
(5) Any Alarm Business shall register with the Detachment Commander
of the Service or his/her designate any Alarm System prior to initial
activation of the Alarm System. No police response will be initiated
to any non -registered alarm system.
(6) An alarm activated from an Alarm System attached to an Automatic
Teller Machine, being the property of a Financial Institution, whether
situated at such Institution or at another premises, when activated,
and determined to be an "at fault false alarm", will be tabulated to the
Automatic Teller Machine itself and will not be tabulated to the
remote premises or the Financial Institution premises.
(7) When an alarm is reported by way of an automatic dial system, no
police response will be initiated unless it is a medical panic alann. No fee
will be charged for response to this class of alarni.
(8) It is recognized that the Oxford OPP cannot guarantee an immediate police
response and any such response will be contingent upon resources available.
(9) The Alarm Reduction Policy will NOT be applicable to any Banking
or Financial Facility when what is commonly known as a HOLD-UP
alarm has been activated during normal business hours.
(10) An Alarrn Subscriber/User who has received a Suspension Notice may
have police response to alarms restored to the affected premise by
paying anon -refundable fee of $100.00 to the Town of Tillsonburg, 90
concession Street East, Tillsonburg, Ontario N4G 4L8, to the attention
of the Alarm Co -Coordinator. Once the sum has been, aidalong with
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a letter explaining how the alarm malfunction has been corrected, then a
Reinstatement Notice will be issued and police response to alarms will
resume.
(11) Alarm Businesses, Alarm Subscribers/Users can appeal the suspension
to the Alarm Co -Coordinator.
(12) THIS By -Law shall come into full forme and effect on the date of enactment
Read a first and second time this 27th Day of June, 2005.
Read a third time and finally passed, signed, sealed and
Numbered 3170 this the 11 t, Day of.Tuly, 2005.
s
Mayor— Stephen Molnar
Clerk — Michael Graves