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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1103_Amending Part 10,Ch 8_Alarm & Resolution to establish fee scheduleTulsa County Clerk - Michael Willis Doc N 2017069543 Page(s): 5 07/27/2017 02:06:58 PM Receipt # 17 -41790 � °kca „oMPn Fee: $ 21.00 CITY OF OWASSO, OKLAHOMA ORDINANCE 1103 AN ORDINANCE REPEALING PART TEN (10), OFFENSES AND CRIMES, CHAPTER EIGHT (8), ALARMS, SECTIONS 10 -801 THROUGH 10 -809, AND ENACTING SECTIONS 10 -801 t THROUGH 10 -808 OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES OF THE CITY OF OWASSO, OKLAHOMA, ESTABLISHING DEFINITIONS, REGULATIONS, REGISTRATION, AND AUTHORIZING FEES FOR RESIDENTIAL, COMMERCIAL, AND GOVERNMENTAL ALARMS WITHIN THE OWASSO CITY LIMITS. THIS ORDINANCE REPEALS PART 10, CHAPTER 8, ALARMS, SECTIONS 10 -801 THROUGH 10 -809, AND ENACTS A NEW PART 10, CHAPTER 8, ALARMS, SECTIONS 10- 801 THROUGH 10 -808, OF THE CITY OF OWASSO CODE OF ORDINANCES. BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF OWASSO, OKLAHOMA, THAT, TO -WIT: SECTION ONE (1): Part 10, Offenses and Crimes, Chapter 8, Alarms, Sections 10 -801 through 10- 809 of the Code of Ordinances of The City of Owasso, shall be repealed. SECTION TWO (2): A new Part 10, Chapter 8, Sections 10 -801 through 10 -808 of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Owasso, Oklahoma, shall be enacted as follows: SECTION 10 -801 LEGISLATIVE INTENT The purpose of this chapter is to reduce the frequency of false alarms and to provide the police department with current alarm user contact information by establishing standards and controls for various types of alarm devices. SECTION 10 -802 DEFINITIONS The following terms used in this chapter have the following meanings unless the context clearly indicates otherwise: "Alarm” means any activation of a Police Alarm Device "Alarm Administrator" means the person or third -party business entity designated by the chief of police to administer the alarm program and to levy fees pursuant to this chapter. "Alarm Appeals Administrator" means the person or entity designated by the chief of police to hear appeals to fees assessed against alarm users for false alarms. "Alarm Business" or "Alarm Provider" means a person or company in the business of installing, servicing, or monitoring Police Alarm Devices at remote Alarm Sites owned by other persons. "Alarm Dispatch Request" means the initiation of communications to the police, via police dispatch, by an Alarm Business indicating that a Police Alarm Device has been activated at an Alarm Site and requesting the police department to respond. "Alarm Response" means police personnel were subject to an Alarm Dispatch Request. "Alarm Site" (also "security alarm site ") means a structure or portion thereof served by a single security alarm system (a "fixed" alarm site). In a multi- tenant building or complex, each portion of the structure or complex having its own security alarm system is considered a separate Alarm Site. N "Alarm User" means any person, firm, partnership, corporation or other entity who (which): 1. Controls a Police Alarm Device at an Alarm Site; 2. Is named on the alarm registration; and 3. Is financially responsible for the operation of a Police Alarm Device. As used in this chapter, the term "Alarm User" may mean more than one person, if more than one person is listed on the registration and has accepted financial responsibility for operation of a Police Alarm Device. Persons with Self- monitored Police Alarm Devices, not connected to an Alarm Business, are not considered Alarm Users and are not subject to registration. "Audible Alarm" means any Police Alarm Device designed to produce an audible signal at the property where it is installed. "Cancellation" or "Cancelled" means a cancellation signal is received indicating a valid user has disarmed the alarm and /or voice verification has been received by the Alarm Provider and communicated to the Police Department prior to the arrival of police personnel at the Alarm Site. Cancelled alarms are not subject to a False Alarm Fee. "Commercial" means any business, individual, industrial, retailer, or any other nonresidential Alarm Site. "Failure to Register Fee" means a fee, assessed upon an Alarm User, for failure to register and pay the appropriate Annual Alarm Registration Fee for an Alarm Site which has been subject to an Alarm Response. "False Alarm" means any Alarm Response that is not triggered by criminal or suspicious activity. Alarms triggered by faulty equipment, human error, animals, etc. are all considered to be false alarms for the purposes of this section. "False Alarm Fee" means a fee, assessed upon an Alarm User, for a False Alarm occurring from their Police Alarm Device and their Alarm Site which resulted in police response and was not cancelled prior to police arrival. "Genuine Alarm" means any Alarm Response which was triggered by criminal or suspicious activity. "Government" means the United States Government or the State of Oklahoma or any political subdivision of the state or any agency of a political subdivision of the state. "Hold Up" or "Panic Alarm" means an Alarm which is manually activated by a user and intended to signal a potentially life threatening emergency such as a robbery, home invasion or other event where a user is at the scene of the Alarm. "Intrusion Alarm" means an Alarm which is activated via sensors indicating entry into a secure area such as a glass break, motion detector, or contact sensor on a window, door, etc. "No -Fee Alarm" means an Alarm which is determined by a police patrol supervisor to be free from False Alarm Fees due to compelling circumstances as determined by the responding officer. The Chief of Police or the Chief's designee may also designate that an alarm be classified as a No -Fee Alarm. "Police Alarm Device" means any device that is designed or used to signal the occurrence of a burglary, robbery, or other criminal offense. This term does not include an alarm affixed to an automobile nor does it include fire alarms or medical emergency alarms. "Registered Alarm" means an Alarm Site that has been duly documented and reported to the city and for which the appropriate Annual Alarm Registration Fee has been paid. "Residential" means any property designed and used principally for single - family or multi- family purposes. SECTION 10 -803 ALARM REGISTRATION REQUIRED A. No Alarm User shall operate, or cause to be operated a Police Alarm Device at any Alarm Site without a valid, Registered Alarm. A separate alarm registration is required for each Alarm Site. B. Alarm registrations must be renewed annually and will be valid for one year from the date of registration. C. The schedule of fees for Annual Alarm Registrations and Failure to Register for Residential, Commercial, and Governmental Alarm Sites shall be determined by the City Council. D. Government Alarm Sites are exempt from Annual Registration Fees. SECTION 10 -804 LENGTH OF AUDIBLE SIGNAL Audible Alarm signals must terminate within ten minutes from the time activated. Operation of an alarm that does not automatically terminate the audible signal within ten minutes shall be a violation of applicable noise ordinances and shall be subject to penalty. SECTION 10 -805 RESPONSIBLITIES OF POLICE ALARM USER Every Alarm User shall: 1. Inspect, maintain, and repair a Police Alarm Device to insure its proper operation. 2. Educate and train all employees and other persons who may in the course of their activities be in a position to accidentally activate a Police Alarm Device. 3. Assure that a responsible person responds to every activation of a Police Alarm Device within twenty minutes after being requested to respond by the City's police communications center. 4. Ensure that their Alarm Provider attempts to verify any Intrusion Alarm with the Alarm User prior to making an Alarm Dispatch Request to the Police Department. The Alarm User shall provide their Alarm Provider with at least two contact telephone numbers for verification. SECTION 10 -806 RIGHT OF INSPECTION The Chief of Police, or designee, may inspect any Police Alarm Device at any Commercial or Governmental Alarm Site in the presence of the property owner, following notification to the C property owner no less than twenty -four (24) hours prior to the inspection, to determine whether the alarm device is being used in conformity with the provisions of this chapter. SECTION 10 -807 FALSE ALARMS A. Every False Alarm response which has not been Cancelled prior to the arrival of a police officer may be subject to a False Alarm Fee. B. Police patrol supervisors, the Chief of Police or those designated by the Chief of Police, may, utilizing their professional good judgment, classify an alarm as a No -Fee Alarm based on exigent circumstances beyond the control of the Alarm User, in order to prevent excessive fees for the Alarm User or to prevent a strain on public safety resources. A patrol supervisor may determine that an Alarm Site be temporarily suspended from alarm response in the event an alarm will not reset or for other repeating false alarm situations. C. False Alarm responses to Alarm Sites that do not have a current alarm registration shall be subject to an additional fee for Failure to Register. D. False Alarm Fees shall be on an escalating fee schedule based on the number of False Alarms during the registration year. E. False Alarm responses to Hold Up or Panic Alarms shall be subject to a fee greater than Intrusion Alarms due to the heightened level of response to such alarms. F. The Alarm Administrator will be authorized to bill the Alarm Users on behalf of the city for all fees accrued due to violations of alarm ordinances. G. The schedule of fees for False Alarm Response to Residential, Commercial, and Governmental registered and non - registered Alarm Sites shall be determined by the City Council. SECTION 10 -808 APPEALS PROCESS Failure to Register Fees are not subject to appeal. A False Alarm Response Fee may be appealed to the Alarm Appeals Administrator as follows: A. The appeal process is initiated by the Alarm User sending an appeal notice to the Alarm Appeals Administrator requesting that the False Alarm Fees be waived, and specifying the reasons for the appeal. 1. This appeal notice must be received by the Alarm Appeals Administrator within twenty -one (2 1) days after the postmarked date or email date of the initial invoice to the alarm user. 2. False Alarm Response Fees may be appealed on the grounds that the incident cited as the basis for the service fee was, in fact, a Genuine Alarm response. 3. The False Alarm Fee may be waived if the appellant can provide detailed, credible evidence that supports the contention that the involved incident was a Genuine Alarm or can provide documentation that the alarm was the result of a compelling circumstance and should be classified as a No -Fee Alarm. Ell B. Appeal decisions of the Alarm Appeals Administrator are subject to review and approval by the City Manager. The City Manager's decision is final and no further appeals or remedies are available. C. If the amount of the fee is affirmed or modified, that amount becomes due and payable SECTION THREE (3): REPEALER All ordinances or parts of ordinances, in conflict with this ordinance are hereby repealed to the extent of the conflict only. SECTION FOUR (4): SEVERABILITY If any part or parts of this ordinance are deemed unconstitutional, invalid or ineffective, the remaining portion shall not be affected but shall remain in full force and effect. SECTION FIVE (5): DECLARING AN EFFECTIVE DATE The provisions of this ordinance shall become effective October 1, 2017. SECTION SIX (6): CODIFICATION This ordinance shall be codified in Part 10, Chapter 8, Sections 10-801 through 10 -808. PASSED by the City Council of the City of Owasso, Oklahoma, on the 51h day of July, 2017 ndell Dunn, Mayor .. 6ify Clei,,A. APPROVED as to form and legality: f' L— OiLhhVAO D J, 4(e Lombardi, City Attorney CITY OF OWASSO /LEGALS ASn JULIE STEVENS PO BOX 180 OWASSO, OK 74055 OklahomaOwasso Reporter •Sand Spring Leader Skiatook Journal • - Wagoner County American- Tribune Tulsa Business &Legal News Business OKLAHOMA WEEKLY GROUP P.O. BOX 1770 TULSA, OK 74102 -1770 Date Category 07/19/2017 Legal Notices 389911 Published in the Owasso Reporter, Owasso, Tulsa Coun- ty, Oklahoma, July 19, 2017. CITY OF OWASSO, OKLAHOMA ORDINANCE 1103 AN ORDINANCE REPEALING PART TEN (10),OF- FENSES AND CRIMES, CHAPTER EIGHT (8), ALARMS, SECTIONS 10-801 THROUGH 10.809, AND ENACTING SECTIONS 10801 THROUGH 10-008 OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES OF THE CITY OF OWASSO, OKLAHOMA, ESTABLISHING DEFINI- TIONS , REGULATIONS, REGISTRATION, AND AU- THORIZING FEES FOR RESIDENTIAL, COMMER- CIAL, AND GOVERNMENTAL ALARMS WITHIN THE OWASSO CITY LIMITS. THIS ORDINANCE REPEALS PART 10, CHAPTER 8, ALARMS, SECTIONS 10401 THROUGH 10.809, AND ENACTS A NEW PART 10, CHAPTER 8, ALARMS, SECTIONS 10 401 THROUGH 10 -808, OF THE CITY OF OWASSO CODE OF ORDINANCES. OF OWASSO OKLAHOMA THAT, COUNCIL IT: THE CITY SECTION ONE (1): Part 10, Offenses and Crimes, Chap- ter 8, Alarms, Sections 10.801 through 10409 of the Code W Ordinances of The City of Owasso, shall be repealed. SECTION TWO (2): A new Part 10, Chapter 8, Sections 10-801 through 10-M of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Owasso, Oklahoma, shall be enacted as follows: SECTION 10801 LEGISLATIVE INTENT The purpose of this chapter is to reduce the frequency of false alarms and to provide the police department with current alarm user contact information by establishing standards and controls for various types of alarm devl- aes. SECTION 10802 DEFINITIONS The following terms used In this chapter have the follow- ing meanings unless the context clearly indicate. other - Mae: "Alarm" means any activation of a Police Alarm Device 'Alarm Administrator" means the person or third -party business entity designated by the chief of Police to ad- minister the alarm Program and to levy fees pursuant to this chapter. "Alarm Appeals Administrator" means the person or en- My designated by the chief of Police to hear appeals to fees assessed against alarm users for false alarms. 'Alarm Business" or "Alarm Provider° means a person or company in the busMess of Installing, seralcing, or monitoring Police Alarm Devices at remote Alarm Sites owned by other persons. "Alarm Dispatch Request" means the initiation of com- munications to the police, via police dispatch, by an Alarm Business Indicating that a Police Alarm Device has been activated at an Alarm Site and requestina Me Police department to respond. "Alarm Response" means police personnel were subleCt to an Alarm Dispatch Request. "Alarm Site" (also "security alarm site -) means a struc- ture or Portion thereof served by a single security alarm system (a "fixed- alarm site). In a multi- tenant builtliry or complex, each portion of the structure or complex having its own security alarm system is considered a separate Alarm Site. 'Alarm User- means any Person, firm, partnership, cor- poratlon or other entity who (which): 1. Controls a Police Alarm Device at an Alarm Site; 2. Is named on the alarm registration; and 3. Is financially responsible for the operation of a Police Alarm Device. As used In this chapter, the term -Alarm User' may mean more than one person, If more than one person is listed on the registration and has accepted financial re- sponsibility for operation of a Police Alarm Device. Per- sons with Self -monliored Police Alarm Devices, not con- nected to an Alarm Business, are not considered Alarm Users and are not subject to registration. "Audible Alarm" means any Police Alarm Device de- signed to produce an audible signal at the property where it Is Installed. - Cancellation' or 'Cancelled" means a cancellation sig- nal is received indicating a valid user has disarmed the alarm and/or voice verification has been received by the Alarm Provider and communicated to the Police Depart- ment prior to the arrival of police personnel at the Alarm Site. Cancelled alarms are not subject to a False Alarm Fee. "Commercial" means any business, individual, industrl- al, retailer, or any other nonresidential Alarm Site. 'Failure to Register Fee" means a fee, assessed Upon an Alarm User, for failure to register and pay the appropri- which has been SergRegistration arm Response Alarm Site 'False Alarm' means any Alarm Response that is not triggered by criminal or suspicious activity. Alarms trig gered by faulty equipment, human error, animals, to are all considered to be false alarms for the purposes of this secfion. "False Alarm Fee" means a fee, assessed upon or I11cerAlalrm Device and Alarm Alarm Site win chnresulted Ir police response and was not cancelled prior to police at rival. 'Genuine Alarm' means any Alarm Response which wall triggered by criminal or suspicious activity. "Government' means the United States Government or the Stairs of Oklahoma or any political subdivision of thi state or any agency of a Political subdivision of the state, 'Hold UP' or "Panic Alarm" means an Alarm which is manually activated by a user and Intended to signal a Po tentlally life threatening emergency such as a robbery home Invasion or other event where a user Is at thi scene of the Alarm. 'Intrusion Alarm' means an Alarm which Is activate, via sensors indicating entry Into a secure area such as, glass break, motion detector, or contact sensor on a win dow, door, etc. 'No-Fae Alarm' means an Alarm which Is determine by a police patrol supervisor to be free from Fals Alarm Fees due to compelling circumstances as deter mined by the responding officer. The Chief of Police o the ssified os a IN Fee may a is designate that an alarm b "Police Alarm Device" means any device that Is dr signed or used to signal Me occurrence of a burglar) robbery, an alarms affixed to an term norddoes net Ir clude fire alarms or medical emergency alarms. 'Registered Alarm' means an Alarm Site that has bee duly documented and reported to the city and for whic the appropriate Annual Alarm Registration Fee has bee paid. "Residential" means any Property designed and use principally for single - family or multi - family purposes. SECTION 10803_ ARLARM A. No Alarm User shall operate, or cause to be operate a Police Alarm Device at any Alarm Site without valid Registered Alarm. A separate alarm registry tlon is required for each Alarm Site. S. Alarm registrations must be renewed annually and will be valid for one year from the date of registration. C. The schedule of fees for Annual Alarm RegistratlOns and Failure to Register for Residential, Commercial, and Governmental Alarm Sites shall be determined by the City Council. D. Government Alarm Sites are exempt from Annual - Registration Fees. SECTION 10-504 LENGTH OF AUDIBLE SIGNAL - Audible Alarm signals most terminate within ten mi- nutes from Me time activated. Operation of an alarm that mes not automatically terminate the audible signal within ten minutes shall be a violation of applicable now ordinances and shall be subject to Penalty. j SECTION 10-805 RAMONSI B ITF POLICE Every Alarm User shall: 1. Inspect, maintain, and repair a Police Alarm Device to insure Its proper operation. 2. Educate and train all employees and other persons who may In the course of their activities be in o posi- tion to accidentally activate a Police Alarm Device. 3. Assure that a responsible person responds to every ac- tivation of a Police Alarm Device within twenty mi- nutes after being requested to respond by the City's Police communications center. 4. Ensure that their Alarm Provider attempts to verify any Intrusion Alarm with the Alarm User prior to making an Alarm Dispatch Request to the Police D. partment. The Alarm User shall provide their Alarm Provider with at least two contact telephone numbers for verification. SECTION 10-806 RIGHT OF INSPECTION The Chief of Police, or designee, may Inspect any Police Alarm Device at any Commercial or Governmental Alarm Site In the presence of the Property owner, follow- ing notification to the property owner no less than twenty -tout (24) hours prior to the Inspection, to deter- mine whether the alarm device is being used in conform- ity with the provisions of this chapter. SECTION 10-807 FALSE ALARMS A. Every False Alarm response which has not been Can- celled prior to the arrival of a Police officer may be subject to a False Alarm Fee. B. Police patrol supervisors, Me Chief of Police or those designated by Me Chief of Police, ma Y, utiflZing their professional good judgment, classify an alarm as a No-Fee Alarm based on exigent circumstances beyond the control of the Alarm User, in order to prevent ex- cessive fees for the Alarm User or to Prevent a strain on public safety resources. A patrol supervisor may determine that an Alarm Site be temporarily suspend- ed from alarm response In the event an alarm will not reset or far other repeating false alarm situations. C. False Alarm responses to Alarm Sites that do not have o current alarm registration shall be Subject to an additional fee for Failure to Register. D. False Alarm Fees shall be on an escalating fee schedule based on the number of False Alarms during the reelstm- tion year. E. False Alarm responses to Hold Up or Panic Alarms shall be subject to a fee greater than Intrusion Alarms due to the heightened level of response to such alarms. F. The Alarm Administrator will be authorized to bill Me Alarm Users on behalf W the city far all fees accrued due to violations of alarm ordinances. Account Number 1015023 Date July 19, 2017 Ad Size Total Cost 2 x 331.00 CL 423.68 Publication 1 a legal representative of ma, a Weekly newspaper of la, a newspaper qualified to ; and publications as Iklahoma Statutes 1971 and d complies with all other ,a with reference to legal copy of which is attached dition of said newspaper tlon and not in a ELOW 7/19/2017 24� Dprese&tive me this date: /9 Ode eIaI -0 G. The schedule of fees for False Alarm Response to Resl- dent101, Commercial, and Governmental registered and non - registered Alarm Sites shall be determined by the City Council. v LIT TV SECTION 1-808 APPEALS PROCESS Failure to Register Fares are not subject to appeal. A False Alarm Response Fee may be appealed to the Alarm Appeals Administrator as follows: A. The appeal process is initiated by the Alarm User Sending an appeal notice to the Alarm Appeals Admin- Istmfix, requesting that the False Alarm Fees be waived and specifying the reasons far the appeal. 1. This appeal notice must be received by the Alarm Appeals Administrator within twenty-one (21) days after the postmarked date or email date of the ini- tial Invoice to the alarm user. 2. False Alarm Response Fees may be appealed on the grounds that the Incident cited as the basis for the serv- ice fee was, in fact, a Genuine Alarm response. 3. The False Alarm Fee may be waived if the appellant can provide detailed, credible evidence that supports the contention that the involved incident was a Gen- uine Alarm or can provide documentation that the alarm was the result of a compelling circumstance and should a classified as a No-Fee Alarm. B. Appeal decisions of the Alarm Appeals Administrator are subject to review and approval by the City Manag- er. The City Manager's decision Is final and no further appeals or remedies are available. C. If the amount of the fee is affirmed or modified, that amount becomes due and payable. SECTION THREE (3): REPEALER All ordinances or Parts of ordinances, in conflict with this ordinance are hereby repealed to the extent of the conflict Only. SECTION FOUR (4): SEVERABILITY If any part ar parts of this ordinance are deemed uncon- stltutlonal, invalid or ineffective, the remaining Portion shall not be affected but shall remain In full force and ef- fect. SECTION FIVE (5): DECLARING AN EFFECTIVE DATE The provisions of this ordinance shall become effective October 1, 2017. SECTION SIX (6): CODIFICATION This ordinance shall be codified in Part 10, Chapter B, Sections 10801 through 10808. PASSED by the City Council of the City of Owasso, Okla- homa, on the Sth day of July, 2017. /s/ Lyndell Dunn, Mayor ATTEST: /a/ Sherry Bishop, City Clerk APPROVED as to form and legality: /s/Julie Lombardi, City Attorney OFOBLAnOMA NANCY CAROL MOORE COMMISSION M 06011684 TULSA COUNTY The City Wit out Limits. TO: FROM: SUBJECT: The Honorable Mayor and City Council City of Owasso Scott Chambless Chief of Police Amending the Owasso Code of Ordinances Part 10, Chapter 8, Alarms & Resolution establishing fee schedule DATE: June 30, 2017 BACKGROUND: In 2007, the Owasso City Council approved Part 10, Chapter 8 of the Owasso Code of Ordinances that regulated residential and business alarms. The goal of the ordinance was to reduce the number of false alarms to which the police department responded. The current ordinance mandates that alarm providers register their business with the police department. There is no registration fee imposed under this ordinance, but failure to register a business that provides alarm services could result in a fine for that business. In the event the business does not register, the ordinance states that police alarm response will not be provided to companies or individuals utilizing that business, absent some defined exceptions. Another provision found in the current alarm ordinance is the imposition of fines and suspension of alarm response when a business or residence has more than three false alarms within a calendar year. This provision was intended to hold the business or homeowner accountable for poorly maintained alarms or failure to properly train employees or family members on the use of alarms. ANALYSIS: For the past year, police staff has been carefully reviewing the effectiveness and practicalities of the current alarm ordinance. This review validated staff concerns. Research has shown that the false alarm problem is increasing. The rate of false alarms is outpacing the population growth of Owasso. The 2007 alarm ordinance was intended to reduce false alarms and the data shows that this goal is not being achieved. Staff argues that alarm companies are essentially selling police services to their customers. The expectation of an alarm owner is that when their alarm goes off, there will be a police response. Arguably, this expectation is what makes the presence an alarm system marketable to consumers, thus the ability to market a police response results in increased profit for alarm companies. FALSE ALARMS: Responding to alarms accounts for almost I I % of all calls for police service with over 98% of those being false. In 2016, the police department responded to 1,805 alarm calls. Response to false alarms is causing significant budgetary concerns. Over the past five years, false alarms are estimated to have cost the City of Owasso over $200,000. In addition to budgetary impact, false alarms have a significant impact on the ability to serve customers for all other types of police calls. Alarm calls receive a priority status; therefore, an officer helping a citizen on a "non- emergency" call must leave that citizen to respond to an alarm. This results in unsolved problems, sub - standard investigations, . and citizen frustration for lack of attention to their concerns. Customer service is a core value of the police department and is critical to maintaining citizen support. Compromising the quality of work performed on calls for service also impacts problem solving, which may eventually lead to more crime. Analysis of the current alarm ordinance included researching how other municipalities manage false alarms. Staff determined that Owasso is not following best practices related to false alarm reduction. The majority of cities researched require citizens and businesses to register their alarms with the local police department. Research indicates that false alarms have been reduced substantially in communities where alarm registration by the alarm owner is required, followed by a fee for excessive false alarms. In some cases, the reductions have been as high as sixty percent. PROPOSED ALARM ORDINANCE: The proposed alarm ordinance would eliminate the requirement that alarm providers register their alarm companies. The proposed change would require individual alarm owners to register their alarms and would require a fee for that registration. Registration would allow the residential alarm owner two false alarm police responses per calendar year and three free responses for commercial alarms. After the free responses have been exhausted, a fee would be assessed. If an owner does not register the alarm, they would be assessed a fee for each false alarm police response. Fees would also be assessed for failure to register an alarm. The change would result in police responding to most alarm calls regardless of registration. The current ordinance states that police will not respond if an alarm provider is not registered. The current ordinance emphasizes suspending alarm response for excessive false alarms, whereas the proposed ordinance would utilize suspensions only on a very limited basis. The proposed ordinance is a fee based system in contrast to the current ordinance, in which fines are assessed for failure to register or for excessive false alarms. The fee based system removes accountability measures from municipal court and places them in a civil collections process. Currently, failure to pay a citation could result in the arrest of an offender, whereas the proposed fee system would turn a failure to pay over to collections. The proposed ordinance also includes an administrative appeals process for fees for excessive false alarms. In summary, staff has developed a proposed alarm ordinance for City Council consideration that has as its primary objective to reduce false alarms and secondly, to recuperate the cost of managing the alarm program and the cost of responding to alarms. The proposed ordinance and resolution would do the following: • Require registration of monitored alarms by property owners, • Charge a fee for alarm registration, • Charge a fee for excessive false alarms, • Charge a fee for failure to register an alarm, • Provide an administrative appeal process, and • Replace municipal court citations with a collections process. IMPLEMENTATION: The proposed ordinance includes an effective date of October 1, 2017. This effective date will allow ample time for educating the public and contracting with a third party vendor to manage the alarm registration and fee process. A variety of strategies will be utilized to educate the public including social media, NEXTdoor, Owassoisms, Owasso Reporter, utility billing flyers, television news, and door hangers. Officers will also make contact with store managers and /or business owners to ensure they are aware of the new ordinance. Registrations would begin on October 1, 2017, the effective date of the ordinance. The proposed strategy is to allow two months of registration with no fees being assessed during that time period for failure to register or for excessive false alarms. This time period would be considered a "grace" period. ALARM FEE RESOLUTION: A City Council resolution is the preferred method to establish fees. The proposed resolution establishes alarm registration fees for individuals and businesses. It is proposed that government buildings would be exempt from registration fees. Further, the resolution establishes fees for failure to register an alarm, excessive intrusion alarms, excessive holdup /panic alarms, or a combination of both types of false alarms. The fees have been established on a separate scale for residences and businesses. Of note: business fees are higher than residential fees due to the additional resources needed to respond to business alarms. The resolution also allows a waiver of the first false alarm fee if the alarm owner takes a false alarm reduction course. Government buildings are not exempt from failure to register fees and excessive false alarm fees. The alarm fee resolution establishes that fees for registration would initiate on October 1, 2017, and fees for failure to register and excessive alarms would begin on December 1, 2017. RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends approval of Ordinance 1 103 amending Chapter 8, Alarms establishing definitions, regulations, registration, and authorizing fees for residential, commercial and governmental alarms within the Owasso city limits. Staff recommends approval of Resolution 2017 -10 establishing fees for alarm registration, for failure to register and for false alarm responses. ATTACHMENTS: Ordinance 1103 Resolution 2017 -10