§ 12-942. Notification; fees.

(a)

Except as otherwise provided, more than three false police alarm responses or more than three false fire alarm responses within the preceding 12-month period shall constitute a violation of this article. Each fire false alarm notification in violation of this subsection that occurs within the city's extraterritorial jurisdiction shall constitute a public nuisance in accordance with V.T.C.A., Local Government Code § 217.042.

(b)

If a person notifies the chief and applies for an alarm system permit before a new alarm or replacement alarm system is put into service, false alarm notification during the first 30 days after the system is put into service will not be counted in determining when a violation exists.

(c)

If the responding officer determines that an alarm notification was caused by smoke or fire, unauthorized intrusion, attempted unauthorized intrusion, robbery, attempted robbery, or an attempt to take a person hostage, that notification will not be counted as a false alarm.

(d)

A false alarm system notification will not be counted in determining when a violation exists if the permit holder can prove to the satisfaction of the city that the alarm notification was the result of a severe weather condition that caused physical damage to the alarm site, or the result of the malfunction of the telephone lines for the transmission of alarm signals, proof of the latter being documented upon the telephone company work orders or time stamped records from the alarm company showing the period of interrupted service.

(e)

Except as otherwise provided in subsections (a) through (d) of this section, the holder of a security/fire alarm permit shall pay an administrative penalty in accordance with the following:

Number of False Alarms	Fee Amount (in dollars)
Police	Residential/Commercial/Industrial
4th and each subsequent false alarm	$50.00
Fire	Residential:
4	100.00
5	250.00
6	500.00
7	750.00
8	1,000.00
9	1,250.00
10	1,500.00
11	1,750.00
12 or more	2,000.00
Fire	Commercial/Industrial
4	250.00
5	500.00
6	750.00
7	1,000.00
8	1,250.00
9	1,500.00
10	1,750.00
11 or more	2,000.00

 

(f)

Failure to pay the penalty for violation of subsection (e) of this section, within the allotted time frame as established by the city, shall constitute a separate offense.

(Ord. No. 02-48, § 1(15-239), 10-21-2002; Ord. No. 03-04, § 1, 3-3-2003; Ord. No. 08-62, § 4, 11-17-2008)