Ontario Municipal Code § 4-9 110. False alarm fines; fees; late charges

(a) The Alarm Administrator may assess the alarm user a fine for a false alarm occurring at that alarm user's alarm site. The amount of said fines for the listed categories shall be established by City Council and may be subsequently amended by resolution of the City Council.

(1) Burglar false alarm fines.

(2) Robbery false alarm fines.

(3) Panic false alarm fines.

(b) If a false alarm fine is not paid within thirty (30) days after the invoice is mailed, a late charge as established by resolution of the City Council shall be imposed.

(c) Fines for false alarms from non-registered alarm systems. For person(s) operating a non-registered alarm system incurring a false alarm, fines shall be imposed as established by resolution of the City Council.

(d) Any monitoring company after five (5) business days of receiving notice from the Alarm Administrator that an alarm user's registration status is that of non-registered shall not make a burglar alarm dispatch request from that alarm user.

(e) If cancellation of a police response occurs prior to the officer's arrival at the alarm site, the response is not considered a false alarm and no false alarm fine will be assessed.

(f) The alarm installation company shall be assessed a fine in an amount established by resolution of the City Council if the officer responding to a false alarm determines that an on-site employee of the alarm installation company directly caused the false alarm. Such false alarms are not included in the total number of false alarms for the alarm user, nor is the alarm user to be held liable for any false alarm fine resulting from such alarm activation.

(g) A fine in an amount established by resolution of the City Council shall be imposed against any monitoring company that fails to verify alarm system signals as required in § 4-9.090(c)(2) of this chapter.

(h) Notice of the right of appeal under this chapter will be included with notice of any fine.

(i) All registration fees, renewal registration fees or fines assessed under this section are due within thirty (30) days of written notice unless otherwise noted. A late charge in an amount established by resolution of the City Council shall be imposed for each individual fee or fine due that is not paid within thirty (30) days.

(j) The Alarm Administrator may waive the false alarm fine for the first chargeable false alarm during the alarm user's one-year registration period, pending the successful completion of the online alarm user awareness class available through the Alarm Administrator. In order to have the fine waived, the alarm user must have successfully completed the class within thirty (30) days of the fine notice. Alarm users without online access may request the online school and test be mailed to them. Reasonable additional time to complete the alarm user awareness class shall be allowed for mail delivery.

(§ 1, Ord. 3151, eff. February 20, 2020)

(a) The Alarm Administrator shall notify the alarm user in writing or by other electronic means after each false alarm. The notice shall include the amount of the fine for the false alarm, the fact that police response to further alarms may be suspended after the fourth false alarm during the alarm user's one-year alarm registration period, (excluding duress, robbery, holdup and panic alarms), and that the alarm user has the right to appeal.

(b) The Alarm Administrator shall notify the alarm user in writing thirty (30) days beforehand that a Police Department response to further alarms is to be suspended. The right of appeal under this chapter shall be included with the notice. The notice of suspension shall also include the amount of any fees and/or fines due and a description of the reinstatement process.

(§ 1, Ord. 3515, eff. February 20, 2020)

(a) The Alarm Administrator shall notify the Police Department of each alarm user whose alarm registration qualifies for suspension under this section. The Alarm Administrator may suspend an alarm registration if it is determined that:

(1) There is a false statement of a material fact in the registration application; or

(2) The alarm user has had four or more false burglar alarms within the one-year registration period, except that the Alarm Administrator may waive a suspension of a registration upon receipt of documented work orders showing reasonable attempts to repair the alarm system prior to the notice of suspension.

(3) The alarm user fails or refuses to pay an alarm registration or alarm registration renewal fee, false alarm fine, late charge, or any other fee, fine, or charge assessed under this section.

(b) It is a violation of this section for a person to operate a burglar alarm system during the period in which the alarm registration is suspended. It is a violation of this chapter for a monitoring company to make an alarm dispatch request to a burglar alarm site after the monitoring company's Alarm Response Manager (ARM) has been notified by electronic mail by the Alarm Administrator that the registration for that alarm site has been suspended. A grace period of five (5) business days after the ARM's notification shall be granted for the monitoring company to comply. The alarm monitoring company shall be assessed a fine in an amount established by resolution of the City Council for requesting a burglar alarm dispatch request on a suspended alarm site.

(c) False alarm fines under suspension status. In addition to the fines set forth in § 4-9.110(a), a supplemental fine is hereby imposed upon any person operating a suspended burglar alarm system. The amount of said fines shall be established by resolution of the City Council.

(d) It shall be the responsibility of the alarm user to notify their respective alarm monitoring company of their suspension status. An alarm user shall be held financially accountable for all false alarm fines incurred.

(e) Unless there is a separate indication that there is a crime in progress, the Police Department may or may not dispatch an officer to an alarm site for which an alarm registration is suspended.

(§ 1, Ord. 3151, eff. February 20, 2020)