§ 18-99. Response to alarms; determination of validity.

(a)

Whenever an alarm is activated in the county, thereby requiring an emergency response to the location by law enforcement and/or the fire district, and the management of the alarm site does not respond, a police officer or firefighter on the scene of the activated alarm system shall visually inspect the area protected by the system and shall exercise reasonable judgment to determine whether the emergency response was in fact required as indicated by the alarm system or whether in some way the alarm system malfunctioned and thereby activated a false alarm.

(b)

If a police officer or firefighter at the scene of the activated alarm system determines the alarm to be false, said officer shall make a report of the false alarm, a notification of which shall be mailed or delivered by the third party alarm administrator to the alarm user and/or record title owner at the address on file with law enforcement, advising the alarm user and record title owner of the false alarm.

(c)

Law enforcement shall have the right to inspect any alarm system on the premises to which a response has been made and they may cause an inspection of such system to be made at any reasonable time thereafter to determine whether it is being used in conformity with the terms of this chapter.

(d)

All false alarm dispatch charges collected as the result of such enforcement shall only be used to offset the costs incurred in responding to false alarms and administration of the alarm systems ordinance.

( Ord. No. 2015-005 , pt. H, 5-19-2015; Ord. No. 2016-005 , pt. A, 4-5-2016; Ord. No. 2016-011 , pt. A, 7-5-2016)

Editor's note

Ord. No. 2015-005, pt. H , adopted May 19, 2015, amended § 18-99 in its entirety to read as herein set out. Former § 18-99, pertained to same—false alarm dispatch charge; collection, and derived from the Code of 1982, § 1-2.5-13; Ord. No. 87-44, adopted November 17, 1987 and Ord. No. 99-10, adopted August 24, 1999.