Alarm Ordinance

ORDINANCE NO. 2024-012 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF WILTON MANORS, FLORIDA, AMENDING CHAPTER 7 OF THE CITY CODE, ENTITLED “ALARM SYSTEMS”, SECTION 7-1 "DEFINITIONS,” SECTION 7-2 “ALARM PERMIT”, SECTION 7-3 "DUTIES OF THE ALARM USER", SECTION 7-4 "USE OF LICENSED CONTRACTORS", SECTION 7-5 “DUTIES OF AN ALARM COMPANY”, SECTION 7-6 “PROHIBITED ACTS", SECTION 7-7 “ENFORCEMENT OF PROVISIONS”, SECTION 7-8 "CANCELLATION", SECTION 7-9 “APPEALS", AND SECTION 7- 10 "GOVERNMENT IMMUNITY"; CREATING SECTIONS 7-2 "THIRD PARTY SERVICE VENDOR", AND 7-10 "ADMINISTRATIVE REMEDY”; PROVIDING FOR CODIFICATION; PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY; PROVIDING FOR CONFLICTS; AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE.

WHEREAS, City Staff periodically reviews the Ordinances and ULDRs of the City of Wilton Manors, Florida and makes recommendations to the City Commission to revise its Ordinances and ULDRs; and

WHEREAS, the City Staff recommends that the City Commission amend the Code of Ordinances, as more specifically set forth herein; and

WHEREAS, the City Commission of the City of Wilton Manors, Florida deems it to be in the best interests of the citizens and residents of the City to amend the Code of Ordinances as set forth herein.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF WILTON MANORS, FLORIDA:

Section 1: The foregoing "WHEREAS" clauses are hereby ratified as being true and correct and are hereby made a specific part of this Ordinance upon adoption hereof.

Section 2: Chapter 7 of the City Code of the City of Wilton Manors, shall be amended as follows:

Sec. 7-1. Definitions.

The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this Chapter, shall have the meanings ascribed to them, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning:

Alarm administrator shall mean a person, persons, or third-party service vendor designated by the City to administer, control and review false alarm reduction efforts and to administer the provisions of this Chapter. of an alarm system within the City. 

Alarm company shall mean a person subject to the licensing requirements of section 489.505 Florida Statutes and/or a company engaged in selling, leasing, installing, servicing or monitoring alarm systems.

Alarm permit shall mean a permit issued by the City allowing the operation of an alarm system within the City.

Alarm program liaison shall mean an employee of the City who has been assigned to be the liaison with a third-party service vendor.

Alarm signal shall mean a detectable signal; audible, visual, or electronically, generated by an alarm system, to which law enforcement is, requested to respond.

Alarm system shall mean any single device or assembly of equipment designed to signal the occurrence of an illegal or unauthorized entry or other activity requiring immediate attention and to which law enforcement is requested to respond, but does not include motor vehicle or boat alarms, domestic violence alarms or alarms designed to elicit a medical response.

Alarm systems program shall mean a program that aims to reduce the number of false alarms by encouraging proper use, installation, and maintenance of alarm systems.

Alarm user shall mean any person, corporation, partnership, proprietorship, governmental or educational entity or any other entity owning, leasing or operating an alarm system, or on whose premises an alarm system is maintained for the protection of such premises.

Automatic dial protection device shall mean an automatic dialing device or an automatic telephone dialing alarm system and shall include any system which, upon being activated, automatically initiates to the Police Department a recorded message or code signal indicating a need for law enforcement response.

Business days shall mean Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, excluding federal holidays.

Cancellation shall mean the process where response is terminated when the alarm company (designated by the alarm user) notifies the Police Department that there is not an existing situation at the alarm site requiring police response after an alarm dispatch request. If cancellation occurs prior to police arriving at the scene, this is not a false alarm for the purpose of civil penalty, and no penalty will be assessed.

City shall mean the City of Wilton Manors.

False alarm shall mean the activation of an alarm system through mechanical or electronic failure, malfunction, improper installation or the negligence of the alarm user, their employees or agents, and signals activated to summon law enforcement personnel unless law enforcement response was cancelled by the alarm user or their agent before law enforcement personnel arrive at the alarm location. An alarm is false within the meaning of this article when, upon inspection by the Police Department, evidence indicates that no unauthorized entry, robbery or other such crime was committed or attempted in or on the premises which would have activated a properly functioning alarm system. Notwithstanding the foregoing, a false alarm shall not include an alarm which can reasonably be determined to have been caused or activated by unusually violent conditions of nature, nor does it include other extraordinary circumstances not reasonably subject to control by the alarm user.

Local alarm shall mean an alarm system that emits a signal at an alarm site that is audible or visible from the exterior of a structure and is not monitored by a remote monitoring facility, whether installed by an alarm company or user.

Monitoring shall mean to receive electrical or electronic signals originating from any structure within the City, where such signals are produced by any alarm system to which law enforcement is requested to respond.

Non-residential includes, but is not limited to: small business concerns, churches, schools, pool houses, clubhouses, recreational buildings, mercantile structures, agricultural and industrial structures, warehouses, hotels and motels and nursing homes.

Permit year shall mean the one-year period beginning the day and month on which the alarm permit is issued.

Runaway alarm shall mean an alarm system that produces repeated alarm signals that do not appear to be caused by separate human action. The Police Department may in its discretion discontinue police responses to alarm signals from what appears to be a runaway alarm.

Self-monitored alarm system shall mean an alarm system that is managed and monitored by a property owner or alarm user without the involvement of an alarm company.

Third party service vendor shall mean a company or individual that provides services to the City but is not directly part of the City.

Sec. 7-2. Third party service vendor.

The City may procure a third-party service vendor to process alarm registrations, issuance of alarm certificates, and for the collection of any applicable fees, penalties and late charges, or otherwise to manage an alarm systems program.

Sec. 7-3. Alarm permit.

(a) Exemption. Self-monitored alarm systems are exempt from permit requirements unless one (1) false alarm occurs at the property where the alarm is installed. Should one (1) false alarm occur that prompts a police response at a property of this nature, the exemption is forfeited indefinitely, and the requirements of this Chapter shall apply to the alarm user. 

(b) Permit required. No person shall use an alarm system without first obtaining a permit from the City for such alarm system, and paying the registration fee or renewal fee as prescribed in the City's Consolidated Fee Schedule. A fee is required for annual renewals, by the day and month on which the alarm permit was issued to be paid to the City. The renewal fee shall be waived if there are no reports of a false alarm for the alarm user during the preceding permit year; however, the alarm user shall be responsible for submitting updated registration information. Each alarm permit shall be assigned a unique permit number, and the user shall provide the permit number to the alarm company to facilitate law enforcement dispatch.

(c) Application. The permit shall be requested on an application form or online application portal provided by the City. An alarm user has the duty to obtain an application or seek out the online application portal from the City.

(d) Transfer of possession. When the possession of the premises at which an alarm system is maintained is transferred, the person (user) obtaining possession of the property shall file an application for an alarm permit within thirty (30) days of obtaining possession of the property. Alarm permits are not transferable.

(e) Reporting updated information. Whenever the information provided on the alarm permit application changes, the alarm user shall provide correct information to the City within thirty (30) days of the change. In addition, each year after the issuance of the permit, permit holders will receive notice from the City or third-party service vendor requesting updated information. The permit holder shall complete and submit this information to the City or third-party service vendor when any of the requested information has changed; failure to comply will constitute a violation and may result in a civil penalty.

(f) Multiple alarm systems. If an alarm user has one or more alarm systems protecting two (2) or more separate structures having different addresses and/or tenants, a separate permit shall be required for each structure and/or tenant.

Sec. 7-4. Duties of the alarm user.

An alarm user shall:

(1) Obtain an alarm permit;

(2) Maintain the premises and the alarm system in a method that will reduce or eliminate false alarms; 

(3) Provide the alarm company the permit number that can be provided to the police communications dispatch system;

(4) Deactivate or cause the deactivation of the alarm system within thirty (30) minutes of a false alarm activation;

(5) Respond or cause a representative to respond to the alarm system's location within sixty (60) minutes when requested by the Police Department;

(6) Not manually activate an alarm for any reason other than an occurrence of an event that the alarm system was intended to report or to perform routine maintenance as prescribed by the alarm system provider; and

(7) Obtain a new permit and pay any associated fees if there is a change in address or ownership of a business or residence.

Sec. 7-5. Use of licensed contractors.

A registered alarm owner or person in control of an alarm system shall not contract or retain an alarm company which is not properly licensed. Unlicensed alarm contracting is a violation of Florida Statutes and punishable by fine and/or imprisonment.

Sec. 7-6. Duties of an alarm company.

An alarm company performing monitoring services shall:

(1) Attempt to verify, by calling the alarm site and/or alarm user by telephone, to determine whether an alarm signal is valid while simultaneously requesting dispatch. Telephone verification shall require, as a minimum that a second call be made to a different number if the first attempt fails to reach an alarm user who can properly identify themselves to attempt to determine whether an alarm signal is valid, except in the case of a panic or robbery-in-progress alarm, or in cases where a crime-in-progress has been verified by video and/or audible means.

(2) Provide alarm user registration number to the police communications dispatch center to facilitate dispatch and/or cancellations.

(3) Communicate any available information about the location of the alarm to the communications center.

(4) Communicate any available information about an incident that occurred or is occurring at the location that resulted in the activation of the alarm.

(5) Communicate a cancellation to the law enforcement communications center as soon as possible following a determination that response is unnecessary.

Sec. 7-7. Prohibited acts.

(a) It shall be unlawful to activate an alarm system for the purpose of summoning law enforcement when no burglary, robbery or other crime dangerous to life or property is being committed or attempted on the premises, or otherwise to cause a false alarm.

(b) It shall be unlawful to install, maintain or use an audible alarm system which can sound continually for more than ten (10) minutes.

(c) It shall be unlawful if an activated emergency alarm has not been silenced by the user or their agent if the alarm sounds continuously or if the alarm sounds intermittently for more than thirty (30) minutes from the time a member of the Police Department has inspected the premises.

(d) It shall be unlawful to install, maintain or use an automatic dial protection device that reports, or causes to be reported, any recorded message to the Police Department.

(e) It shall be unlawful for any alarm company performing monitoring services to fail to make efforts to verify as legitimate every alarm signal, except a duress, holdup or fire alarm, while simultaneously requesting a police response to an alarm signal.

(f) Unless excepted pursuant to section 7-3(a), it shall be unlawful for any person to operate an alarm system without registering it and obtaining a permit from the City.

(g) It shall be unlawful for any person to fail to fulfill any requirements of this Chapter.

Sec. 7-8. Enforcement of provisions.

(a) Failure to register. Civil penalties for failure to register an alarm shall be assessed against residential and nonresidential alarm users in the amount of one hundred dollars ($100.00). If the alarm user registers the alarm and pays the required registration fee within ten (10) days of the invoice date for failure to register, the penalty for failure to register the alarm shall be waived.

(b) Failure to report updated information. Civil penalties for failure to report a change in information on an alarm user's permit application within thirty (30) days shall be assessed a civil penalty in the amount of one hundred dollars ($100.00).

(c) False alarm fines. It is hereby found and determined that two (2) or more false alarms within a permit year is excessive, constitutes a public nuisance and shall be unlawful. Fines for false alarms within a permit year may be assessed against:

Residential shall include, but is not limited to: single family residences, multi-family residences, two-family duplex, townhomes, condominiums or other housing primarily used for living purposes.

(d) Payment of civil penalty(ies) and fines. Civil penalty(ies) and fines shall be due within thirty (30) days from the due date of the invoice.

(e) Should the civil penalty or fine remain unpaid for a period of thirty (30) days past the date of the notice of the invoice of the may send the unpaid fee/penalty to a City approved vendor for collections or may have a lien placed on all lands or premises of the property owner if payment is not received by the City. Such liens may be foreclosed by the City in a manner provided by law.

(f) Discontinuance of law enforcement response. The failure of an alarm user to make payment of any civil penalty(ies) or fine assessed under this Chapter within thirty (30) days from the due date of the invoice may result in discontinuance of law enforcement response to alarm signals that may occur at the premises described in the alarm user's permit until payment is received. In addition, failure to register and obtain an alarm permit may result in no law enforcement response to an unregistered alarm.

(g) Other civil penalty(ies). Violations not outlined in subsections 7-7(a), (b),(c), (d), and (e) will be enforced through the assessment of civil penalty(ies) in the amount of one hundred dollars ($100.00) per violation.

(h) Collection of civil penalty(ies). Civil penalty(ies) shall be due to the City as prescribed in an invoice.

Sec. 7-9. Cancellation.

Cancellation of an alarm permit shall be utilized by the alarm user when they disconnect their alarm or move from the property.

Sec. 7-10. Administrative Remedy.

As a condition precedent to filing an appeal under section 7-11, the alarm user shall first file a written request for reconsideration with the third-party service vendor within ten (10) business days after the date of notification of the assessment of civil penalty(ies) or other enforcement decision. The alarm program liaison, via the third-party service vendor, shall render a written decision on the request for reconsideration within ten (10) business of receipt of the request. A request for reconsideration hereunder shall extend the time for filing an appeal for ten (10) business days following the decision by the alarm program liaison. There shall be no fee to request a reconsideration.

Sec. 7-11. Appeals.

(a) Appeal process. Assessments of civil penalty(ies) and other enforcement decisions made under this Chapter may be appealed by filing a written notice of appeal with the Wilton Manors Police Department, ATTN: Alarm-Program Liaison within ten (10) business days after the date of notification of the assessment of civil penalty(ies) or other enforcement decision. The alarm user shall pay an administrative fee for such process per the City of Wilton Manors Consolidated Fee Schedule. The failure to give notice of appeal within this time period shall constitute a waiver of the right to contest the assessment of penalty(ies) or other enforcement decision.

(b) Administrative process. Appeals shall be heard by a Special Magistrate during an administrative process established by the City. The alarm user shall pay an administrative fee for such process per the City of Wilton Manors Consolidated Fee Schedule. If the Special Magistrate dismisses the civil penalty(ies) and reverses the enforcement decision, the administrative fee shall be refunded to the alarm user.

(c) Appeal standard. The Special Magistrate shall review an appeal from the assessment of civil penalty(ies) or other enforcement decision using a preponderance of the evidence standard. Notwithstanding a determination that the preponderance of the evidence supports the assessment of civil penalty(ies) or other enforcement decision, the Special Magistrate shall have the discretion to dismiss or reduce civil penalty(ies) or reverse any other enforcement decision where warranted. The Special Magistrate's decision is subject to review by proceedings in the nature of certiorari. The decision of the Special Magistrate is final as to administrative remedies within the City, but does not preclude an appeal to any court of competent jurisdiction.

(d) Fees and costs. Fees and costs incurred either as service charges for false alarms, late fees, violations and/or appeal assessments shall constitute a lien against the premises to the same extent as a lien for special assessment, and with the same penalties and same rights of collection for foreclosure sale and forfeitures obtained for special assessment liens, and may be handled in that manner by the City. In lieu of this, the City may forward unpaid fees/penalties to a City approved vendor for collections. It shall be unlawful for any person to refuse or fail to pay any cost assessed pursuant to this Article. The refusal or failure to make payment within thirty (30) days of being notified of such expenses after assessment or once an appeal has been concluded shall constitute a separate offense against the City.

Sec. 7-12. Government Immunity.

Alarm registration is not intended to, nor will it, create a contract, duty or obligation, either expressed or implied, of response. Any and all liability and consequential damage resulting from the failure to respond to a notification is hereby disclaimed and governmental immunity as provided by law is retained. By applying for an alarm registration, the alarm user acknowledges that law enforcement response may be influenced by factors such as: The availability of police units, priority of calls, weather conditions, traffic conditions, emergency conditions, staffing levels and prior response history.

Section 3. Codification. It is the intention of the City Commission of the City of Wilton Manors, and it is hereby ordained that the provisions of this Ordinance shall become and be made a part of the Code and Ordinances of the City of Wilton Manors, Florida, and that Sections of this Ordinance may be renumbered, re-lettered and the word “Ordinance” may be changed to “Section,” “Article,” or such other word or phrase in order to accomplish such intention.

Section 4: Severability. If any clause, section, or other part of this Ordinance shall be held by any court of competent jurisdiction to be unconstitutional or invalid, such unconstitutional or invalid part shall be considered as eliminated and in no way affecting the validity of the other provisions of this Ordinance.

Section 5: Conflicts. That all Ordinances or parts of Ordinances, Resolutions, or parts of Resolutions in conflict herewith, be and the same are repealed to the extent of such conflict.

Section 6. Effective Date. Except as otherwise provided for herein, this Ordinance shall take effect immediately upon adoption.

PASSED ON FIRST READING BY THE CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF WILTON MANORS, FLORIDA, THIS 26th DAY OF NOVEMBER 2024.

PASSED AND ADOPTED ON SECOND AND FINAL READING BY THE CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF WILTON MANORS, FLORIDA THIS 10TH DAY OF DECEMBER 2024. 

CITY OF WILTON MANORS, FLORIDA

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