TOWN ORDINANCE NO. 86-08

ALARM SYSTEMS, USERS AND BUSINESSES

1. Purpose: The purpose of this ordinance is to provide minimum standards of operation and regulations applicable to emergency fire, medical, and burglar systems, alarm businesses and alarm users.

2. Licensing of Alarm Businesses/Installers: Any person engaging in an alarm business shall be pro0perty licensed in accordance with any requirements established by the State of New Hampshire and the Town of Newington.

3. Alarm User Permit Required: Within sixty (60) days after the effective date of this ordinance, every alarm user shall obtain an alarm user permit for each alarm system he operates within the Town of Newington. This permit shall be obtained through the Newington Police Department in those instances involving a burglar alarm and through the Newington Fire Department in those instances involving a fire or medical emergency alarm. If a licensed alarm business uses an alarm system on its own premises within the Town of Newington, it shall obtain a permit for such system as required by this section. The permit year shall expire on July 31st of the permit year. Permits shall be renewed before July 31st for the following permit year.

4. Alarm User Permit Application: The alarm user applying for the permit required in Section 3 of this ordinance shall state on a permit application prescribed by the Chief of the police department or fire department: his name; the address of the residence of business or businesses where the alarm system has been or will be installed; his telephone number; the name and telephone number of the business or businesses conducted at the location, if any; the type of alarm system (local, direct connect, dialer, central station, etc.); the alarm company selling, installing, monitoring and inspecting the alarm system; the name, and telephone number of at least other person (in the case of a corporate or business alarm user application, at least two other persons) who can be reached anytime day or night, and who is (are) authorized to respond to an alarm signal, and who can open the premises in which the system is installed; and any other information required upon the application form. It shall be the responsibility of the alarm user to properly notify the police department (in the case of a burglar alarm) or the fire department (in the case of a fire or medical emergency alarm) in writing of any change in the emergency notification list, whether temporary or permanent, within three (3) days of such change. Failure to make such notification may result in the revocation of the alarm user’s permit. Any false statement or misrepresentation of a material fact made by an applicant for the purpose of obtaining a user’s permit or renewal thereof, or while making a change thereto, shall be sufficient cause for refusal to grant or revocation of a permit.

5. Inspection of Alarm System Required: Every alarm system licensed under this ordinance shall be required to have its alarm system inspected at least once in each calendar year by a qualified inspector and post a certificate shall state that in the opinion of the alarm inspector, the alarm system complies with applicable installation standards, and is safe and reliable. A copy of each certificate shall be furnished to the Chief of the police department or fire department, as appropriate. Failure to obtain annual certification shall be sufficient grounds for revocation of the permit.

6. Operating System Without Permit; Penalty: Any alarm system user who operates or permits to be operated, an alarm system without first obtaining a permit as required by this ordinance, or who operates or permits to be operated an alarm system when such permit has expired, shall be guilty of a violation and, upon conviction, shall be fined not less than one-hundred dollars ($100.00) and not more than one-thousand dollars ($1,000.00).

7. Operating System After Revocation; Penalty: Any alarm system user who, after having a permit revoked or suspended, and after exhausting his right to a hearing, fails to disconnect his alarm system, or reconnects his system prior to the restoration of his permit, shall be guilty of a violation and, upon conviction, shall be fined not less than one hundred ($100.00) dollars and not more than one-thousand dollars ($1,000.00).

8. False Alarms:

(a) For the purpose of this ordinance, a false alarm shall be defined as an alarm signal eliciting a response by police, fire, or ambulance personnel when a situation requiring a response by police, fire, or ambulance personnel does not in fact exist, but does not include an alarm signal caused by violent conditions of nature or other extraordinary circumstances not reasonably subject to control by the alarm user.

(b) In any case where more than six (6) false alarms in a calendar year are received from an alarm system for which an alarm user permit has been obtained, a civil assessment shall be paid over to the Town of Newington, and such permit may be revoked subject to the provisions of this ordinance. Refusal to pay the civil assessment within thirty (30) days of the assessment shall be punishable as a violation and may be cause for revocation of the alarm user’s permit. Each false alarm received in excess of the limits stated in this subsection shall be subject to a civil penalty set by the Newington Police Commission for burglar/hold-up alarm systems and the Newington Board of Fire Engineers for fire/medical alarm systems.

9. Revocation Procedure:

(a) If the police department, in the case of a burglar alarm, or the fire department, in the case of a fire or medical emergency alarm, has recorded false alarms in excess of limits as stated in Section 8, the chief of police or fire department may notify the permit holder in writing and request the permit holder to submit a report within fifteen (15) days describing efforts to discover and eliminate the cause(s) of the false alarms. If the alarm user reasonably requests an extension of time to file said report based upon some extraordinary circumstances, the chief of the police department or fire department may extend the fifteen (15) days for a reasonable time. If the permit holder fails to submit his report within the specified period, the chief of the police department or fire department shall notify the alarm user that his permit to operate an alarm system has been revoked and, under such circumstances, the user shall not be entitled to a hearing as hereinafter provided.

(b) If the alarm user submits a report as required by paragraph (1) of this section, but the chief of the police department or fire department finds the report unsatisfactory, then the chief of the police department or fire department may issue a written notice of his intent to revoke the alarm user’s permit.

(c) If, after the submission of a report required by paragraph (a) of this section which is satisfactory to the chief of the police department or fire department, the alarm system of the permit holder incurs two or more false alarms during the same calendar year, the chief of the police department or fire department may issue written notice of his intent to revoke the alarm user’s permit.

(d) Upon receipt of a notice of intent to revoke an alarm user’s permit, the permit holder may within ten (10) days of such receipt submit a written request for a hearing before the respective chief of the police department or fire department setting forth the reasons that his permit should not be revoked. Written notice of the time, date and place of the hearing shall be served on the permit holder at least five (5) days prior to the date set for the hearing.

(e) At the hearing before the respective chief of the police department or fire department, the holder of the permit or his authorized representative shall have the right to be made aware of the circumstances leading to revocation of the alarm permit, and to present evidence on his own behalf. After the hearing, the chief of the police department or fire department may either issue an order of revocation, withdraw the notice of revocation, or allow a reasonable time, not to exceed fifteen (15) days, in which the alarm user must take action to eliminate the cause(s) of the false alarms to the satisfaction of the chief of the police department or fire department.

10. Application for Revoked User Permit:

(a) An alarm user, whose permit has been revoked, may apply for a revoked user’s permit as provided in Section 4 of this ordinance. The chief of the police department or fire department shall not be required to issue a revoked user permit unless he his satisfied that the user’s system has been properly serviced and its deficiencies corrected. The chief of the police department or fire department may also impose such reasonable restrictions and conditions as he deems necessary upon the user before issuing a revoked user permit, and these restrictions and/or conditions shall appear on the permit and shall provide for the automatic revocation on the occurrence of two (2) false alarms in the remaining permit year.

(b) In situations where a permit is revoked under the conditions in paragraph (a) of this section, there shall be no appeal to the chief of the police department or fire department, and this revocation shall remain in effect for the remainder of the calendar year.

11. Alarm User Permit Fee:

(a) There shall be an initial permit fee payable upon application for an alarm user’s permit:

(1) said fee to be set by the Newington Police Commission for burglar/hold-up alarm systems

(2) said fee to be set by Newington Board of Fire Engineers for medical/fire alarm systems

(b) There shall be an annual renewal fee for each alarm user’s permit:

(1) said fee to be set by the Newington Police Commission for burglar/hold-up alarm systems

(2) said fee to be set by Newington Board of Fire Engineers for medical/fire alarm systems

(c) There shall be a fee for the re-issuance of an alarm user’s permit following any revocation of said permit:

(1) said fee to be set by the Newington Police Commission for burglar/hold-up alarm systems

(2) said fee to be set by Newington Board of Fire Engineers for medical/fire alarm systems

(d) If a residential alarm user is the primary resident of the dwelling, and if no business is conducted in the dwelling, a user’s permit may be obtained without payment of a fee, except in the case of a revoked permit.

(e) Federal, state, county or local government agencies who operate alarm systems shall be exempt from payment of a fee, except in the case of a revoked permit.

12. Service of Notice: When any Town official has the right or is required to act within a prescribed period pursuant to this ordinance, and service is made by mail, one day shall be added to the prescribed period. In lieu of service by mail, delivery may be made in hand by any person eighteen years of age or older.

13. Administrative Rules: The Chief of the police department and/or the fire department may promulgate such rules as may be necessary for the implementation of this ordinance and for determination of grounds for administrative revocation of any permit required by this ordinance.

14. Severability: If any part or parts of this ordinance are for any reason held to be invalid, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this ordinance.

15. Penalty for Non-Compliance: Failure of any person to comply with the requirements of a written notice of a violation of any portion of this ordinance within three (3) days of receipt of such notice, exclusive of Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays, shall constitute a violation of this ordinance. Such notice shall continue in force and effect until full compliance with the requirements stated therein, and each and every failure to comply with such notice within twenty-four (24) hours after the three (3) days allowed for compliance shall constitute a separate offense.

16. Penalty Clause: Unless otherwise provided, any person, firm, or corporation within the boundaries of the Town of Newington, who violates this ordinance, shall be guilty of a violation and, upon conviction, shall be punished by a fine of one hundred ($100.00) dollars. Each during which a violation continues shall be considered a separate offense.

17. Effective Date: This ordinance shall take effect upon passage at a Town Meeting by the voting residents of the Town of Newington and recording by the Town Clerk.

18. Repeal of previous ordinance: The passage of this Ordinance shall repeal all other Alarm System user and Business Ordinances.

ENACTED MARCH 15, 1986

REVISED MARCH 11, 1997

REVISED MARCH 17, 2007