§ 17-09-090. User fees.

The department of public safety may respond to proper notification of activation of an alarm system without charge except that the following fees shall be charged to the alarm user for each response by the department of public safety to notification of activation of an alarm system in excess of five (5) alarms from the same alarm location within a calendar year.

(a)

Twenty-five dollars ($25.00) for each response to notification of activation of an alarm system at a single location in excess of five (5) alarms but not more than ten (10) alarms within a calendar year.

(b)

Forty dollars ($40.00) for each response to notification of activation of an alarm system at a single location in excess of ten (10) alarms within a calendar year.

(c)

Provided, however, no notification of the activation of an alarm system shall be considered in determining the fees set out above, nor shall any fee be charged if the alarm user shows that the activation was not a false alarm, and any response by the department of public safety to notification of activation of an alarm system will not be included in determining the fees set out above if the alarm user shows that such activation was not a false alarm. For purposes of determining the fees set out above, the burden shall be on the alarm user to prove that the activation of the alarm system was not a false alarm.

(d)

The person responsible for the alarm system shall be given written notice of any fees chargeable under this section. Such fees shall be paid to the city within thirty (30) calendar days of the date of the notice of fees due, unless the alarm user requests a hearing pursuant to section 17-09-110, in which event the payment of the fees shall be suspended pending the decision of the hearing officer.

(e)

There shall be no fees imposed for a false alarm occurring within thirty (30) days after the fifth false alarm provided that the false alarms were caused by mechanical defect and the alarm user is making a good faith effort to repair the defect. The director of public safety may extend the thirty-day period for a reasonable time if the alarm user shows that the defect could not be repaired within thirty (30) days because of circumstances beyond the user's control. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to prevent a false alarm from being used to compute the amount due pursuant to subsections (a) and (b) of the section.

(Ord. No. 955, 8-22-95; Ord. No. 1347, § 1, 11-18-08)