ORDINANCE NO. O-23-15

LEGAL NOTICE
CITY OF WARWICK
ORDINANCE NO. O-23-15

APPROVED June 6, 2023
Frank J. Picozzi MAYOR

CHAPTER 40
MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS AND OFFENSES

ARTICLE III
ALARMS

AN ORDINANCE RELATIVE TO REPEALING THE ALARM REVIEW PANEL, TRANSFERRING RESPONSIBILITIES TO THE POLICE DEPARTMENT, AND INCREASING THE FALSE ALARM ASSESSMENT SCHEDULE

Be it ordained by the City of Warwick:

Section I: Chapter 40, Article III of the City of Warwick Code of Ordinances is hereby amended as follows:

Sec. 40-66. Parking restrictions generally.

(a) The chief of police shall establish an alarm review panel for the purposes set forth in section 40-67. Said panel shall be comprised of seven members consisting of 1) two persons appointed by the chief of police, 2) one representative of the Alarm Association of Rhode Island, Inc. selected by the chief of police, 3) two residents of the City of Warwick, selected by the city council president, 4) the chair of the public safety committee of the Warwick City Council, and 5) the minority leader of the Warwick City Council. Members of this panel shall be appointed for a two-year term and are eligible for reappointment at the discretion of the appointing agent.

(b) The alarm review panel shall meet no less than bimonthly and shall serve without compensation.

(c) Decisions of the panel shall be determined by a majority vote.

(d) Meetings held by this panel in their official capacity shall comply with all mandates of the Rhode Island Open Meetings Laws.

Sec. 40-67. - False alarm assessment schedule.

(a) After the chief of police or his designee has initially recorded three separate false alarms from a security alarm system of one user within any one calendar year, then the alarm user will be notified by the chief of police, via regular mail, of such facts and require the alarm user to submit within ten working days of receipt of such notice, a report describing the alarm user's efforts to discover and eliminate the cause or causes of the false alarms. This notice shall further contain the dates and time of each alleged false alarm. After three false alarms in a calendar year the alarm system shall be inspected and certified by a licensed alarm business. Said inspections shall not be required more frequently then than once per calendar year. After ten false alarms in a calendar year, the alarm user shall appear before the municipal court alarm review panel.

(b) Reports received by the chief of police under the provisions of this section shall be forwarded to the alarm review panel.

(c) In the event that the alarm review panel chief of police or designee determines that a report submitted in accordance with the preceding paragraph is unsatisfactory or that the alarm user has failed to show by the report that reasonable steps have been taken to eliminate or reduce false alarms, then the chief of police will inform the alarm user, via regular mail, that subsequent false alarms will cause the alarm user to be assessed monetary charges as follows:

(d) If the alarm review panel chief of police or designee is satisfied based on the report submitted by the user, that the action taken will substantially reduce the likelihood of further false alarms, the chief of police will notify the alarm users in writing that no assessment will be made at that time. However, the alarm user will be subject to assessment proceedings on the next false alarm signal transmitted.

(e) All fees assessed hereunder shall be made payable to the City of Warwick for deposit into the general fund.

(f) For purposes of this section, multiple false alarms received within a 24-hour period will be counted as one false alarm.

(g) Should an alarm user or his/her designee notify the police department prior to the arrival of the police at the location of the activated alarm that said alarm is false, thereby resulting in a nonemergency response by police, then the alarm user shall not be charged with a false alarm.

(h) The provisions of this section shall not apply to security alarm systems owned and/or operated by agencies of the City of Warwick, State of Rhode Island, or the United States of America.

(i) The alarm review panel chief of police or designee may, at their discretion waive the assessment of an alarm user's first offense for a false alarm if said alarm user agrees to attend the false alarm prevention program described below.

Sec. 40-68. - False alarm prevention program.

(a) The police department shall provide an educational program for the prevention of false alarms. The police department shall allow any alarm user to attend any scheduled false alarm prevention program.

(b) An alarm user who attends any false alarm prevention program provided pursuant to this section is not eligible to attend a false alarm prevention program again within 12 months from the day on which that person last attended the program unless such attendance is necessary to satisfy the requirements of section 40-67(f).

Sec. 40-69. - Appeals procedure.

Any alarm user who is aggrieved by a decision of the alarm review panel chief of police or designee may, within five working days of the issuance of the chief's decision, appeal to the municipal court. The only grounds for appealing a decision of the chief of police are:

(1) Proof that a false alarm was caused by an act of nature or actions of any utility company.

(2) Written verification from the alarm user and the alarm business that all necessary steps have been taken to upgrade, improve and insure the accuracy of the security alarm system.

Section II: This Ordinance shall take effect upon passage and publication as prescribed by law.

SPONSORED BY:  COUNCILMAN GEBHART
COUNCILMAN FOLEY

COMMITTEE: ORDINANCE

Attest:
Lynn D’Abrosca, City Clerk