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SR-06-25-2013-7GCity Council Report City of Santa Moniege City Council Meeting: June 25, 2013 Agenda Item: `� --C-4 To: Mayor and City Council From: Jacqueline Seabrooks, Chief of Police Subject: Introduction and first reading of an Ordinance Amending Santa Monica Municipal Code Chapter 3.56 related to false police alarms Recommended Action Staff recommends that the City Council introduce for first reading an ordinance amending Santa Monica Municipal Code (SMMC) Chapter 3.56. Executive Summary SMMC chapter 3.56.050 currently authorizes charges for third and subsequent Santa Monica Police Department responses to false alarms occurring within the same fiscal year. An amendment to the Municipal Code is proposed to authorize an additional fine, in the amount of $164.86, for the second response within a fiscal year. The fine will be effective July 1, 2013, thereafter, the fine will be subject to annual automatic CPI increase. This fine is recommended to reduce the number of false police alarms. In addition, staff proposes that the SMMC be amended to authorize an alarm registration fee, in the amount of $27.00. The fee will be effective July 1, 2013 and will be subject to annual automatic CPI increase. Registration of alarm systems would ensure correct physical addresses are automatically recorded in the police records management system, which minimizes call processing time while providing vital information, including but not limited to, information about elderly or disabled residents, firearms at the property, animals that may require special handling, and the presence of hazardous materials. Providing responding officers with this information enhances service delivery and promotes public safety. `',. Discussion The Police Department responded to 2,812 police alarms during fiscal year 2011 -2012. Of that total, 1,063 police alarms required two or more false alarm emergency responses during the same fiscal year. Responding to false police alarms requires significant staff time and negatively affects the overall safety of the community by diverting essential police department personnel and resources from responding to actual emergencies. The purpose of this ordinance is to promote the responsible use of alarm systems. Staff recommends that no fine be charged for the first false alarm response by the police. However, staff recommends the imposition of the fine for the second and each subsequent response to a false police alarm during the same fiscal year, as reflected in the amended ordinance. Based on 1,063 second false alarm responses during fiscal year 2011 -2012, staff estimates the proposed fine for second responses will generate approximately $175,246 in annual revenues. Staff also recommends amending the ordinance to authorize a new fee requiring the registration of alarm systems located in residences and businesses. Registration of alarm systems would ensure the correct physical address is recorded in the police computer -aided dispatch system. Having this information automatically available reduces call processing time and quickens the dispatch of officers while also providing the officers with vital information, including but not limited to, information about elderly or disabled residents, firearms at the property, and animals that may require special handling. Based on approximately 5,600 alarms located in the city, staff estimates that the proposed burglary alarm registration fee will generate approximately $151,200 in annual revenue. Upon response to an alarm system activation that is found to be a false, the Police Department would provide written notice to the owner of the property. The ordinance defines an owner as the person who owns the premises in which an alarm system is installed or the person(s) who lease, operate, occupy or manage the premises. The notice informs the owner that the Santa Monica Police Department responded to a false 2 alarm at their premises and the alarm activation was either the result of a malfunction or improper alarm system use. The notice will outline the potential consequences for additional responses and the applicable fines associated with those responses provided they occur within the same fiscal year. Public Outreach Police Department will provide a written notice, along with an alarm registration application, notifying the residents and businesses of the required new alarm registration fee. The notice will also outline the potential consequences for false alarms and the applicable fines associated with those responses. The information will be posted on the Police Department's website. Financial Impacts & Budget Actions The proposed fine for second false police alarms response is anticipated to generate $175,246 in annual revenues. The proposed fee for burglary alarm registration is anticipated to generate $151,200 in annual revenues. Revenues for the proposed fine and fee have been included in the FY 2013 -15 Proposed Budget, pending Council approval. Prepared by: Neela Patel, Senior Administrative Analyst Approved: Attachments: 1) Ordinance 3 Forwarded to Council: 6 � v Rod Gould City Manager City Council Meeting: June 25, 2013 Santa Monica, California ORDINANCE NUMBER (CCS) (City Council Series) AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA AMENDING CHAPTER 3.56 OF THE SANTA MONICA MUNICIPAL CODE RELATED TO FALSE POLICE ALARMS WHEREAS, the City consists of just eight square miles of coastal land which is home to 90,000 residents, the job site of 300,000 workers, and a destination for as many as 500,000 visitors on weekends and holidays; and WHEREAS, there is a constant and heavy demand on police services; and WHEREAS, false alarms are significant and unnecessary drains on precious police resources; and WHEREAS, diversion of police resources to respond to false alarms hampers response efforts for actual emergencies and thus endangers public safety; and WHEREAS, requiring registration of police alarms would quicken police response time, provide vital information to the responding officers and enhance public safety; and WHEREAS, Business and Professions Code Section 7592.8 authorizes local agencies to enact ordinances governing false alarm activations and responses. 1 NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA DOES HEREBY ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Section 3.56.030 of the Santa Monica Municipal Code is hereby added to read as follows: 3.56.030 Alarm Registration No Subscriber shall operate an Alarm System without having first registered such Alarm System with the Santa Monica Police Department and paid the required registration fee. The Police Department may require that registrants provide information to the City to protect public safety and aid response efforts, including but not limited to, information about residents that are elderly or disabled, firearms at the property, and animals that may require special handling. SECTION 2. Section 3.56.050 of the Santa Monica Municipal Code is hereby amended in part to read as follows: 3.56.050 Fees. 2 A Subscriber shall pay a False Alarm response fine to the City upon the occurrence of two or more False Alarms received from the Subscriber's Alarm System within a fiscal year. The amount of the fine and any associated late fees may be established by resolution of the City Council. The subscriber of an alarm system or property owner or lessor who has caused an alarm to be installed shall be declared to be maintaining a public nuisance in the event that more than four false alarms are recorded at the same location during a single fiscal year, and shall be prosecuted pursuant to the provisions of section 1.08.010 of this code. The chief of police shall cause to be issued a monthly bill for the unpaid seNice charges -fines and fee accrued during the billing period and any prior periods. Such bill shall be due and payable within fifteen days after the billing date. All remedies shall be cumulative, and the use of one or more remedies by the city shall not bar the use of any other remedy for the purpose of enforcing the provisions of this chapter. The amount of any 6eWiGe Charge fines and fees shall be deemed a debt to the city. An action may be commenced in the name of the city in any court of competent jurisdiction for the amount of any delinquent debt thirty days after it becomes due and payable. Payment of any merge fines or fees shall not prohibit criminal prosecution for the violation of any of the provisions of this chapter. SECTION 3. Section 3.66.060 of the Santa Monica Municipal Code is hereby repealed. 3 SECTION 4. Section 3.56.070 of the Santa Monica Municipal Code is hereby amended in part to read as follows. 3.56.070 Nonresponse. (a) The Chief of Police may notify any subscriber of an alarm system or property owner, lessor or person who has caused such a system to be installed that the Police Department will not respond to any alarm at the location where the alarm has been installed when: (1) Any fines and fees required by Section 3.56.050 have not been paid and are past due. The notice shall indicate that service response shall not be resumed until thirty days after payment of the fines and fees required by Section 3.56.050; or (2) There are more than four false alarms at the location during any fiscal year. The notice shall indicate that response shall not be resumed for a period of not less than sixty days and only after submission to and approval by the Police Department of an alarm plan to reduce the number of false alarms to less than four in any fiscal year. rd (b) Any person receiving a notice under subsection (a) may request a hearing in accordance with the procedures set forth in Chapter 6.16 of this Code priorMunis+pa4 . The notice shall inform the subscriber, property owner, lessor, or person of the hearing rights set forth in Chapter 6.16 6126. , nNo hearing request shall be deemed timely filed and no hearing shall be held unless within the time period to request a hearing, the person requesting the hearings deposits with the City Treasurer money in the amount of any unpaid and past due fines and fees under Municipal Code Section 3.56.050. If as a result of the hearing it is determined that the City was not entitled to the fines and fees in the amount of the deposit, the City shall refund to the subscriber, property owner, or lessor the amount of the excess fees. (c) Nothing in this Chapter shall create or be construed to create a duty upon the Police Department or City to respond to any alarm whether or not the alarm is false. An alarm, like any other request for service from the Police Department, may be responded to within the resources of the Police Department and other responses required by the Police Department at the time of the alarm. SECTION 5. Any provision of the Santa Monica Municipal Code or appendices thereto inconsistent with the provisions of this Ordinance, to the extent of such inconsistencies and no further, is hereby repealed or modified to that extent necessary to effect the provisions of this Ordinance. SECTION 6. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, or phrase of this Ordinance is for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional by a decision of any court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this Ordinance. The City Council hereby declares that it would have passed this Ordinance and each and every section, subsection, sentence, clause, or phrase not declared invalid or unconstitutional without regard to whether any portion of the ordinance would be subsequently declared invalid or unconstitutional. SECTION 7. The Mayor shall sign and the City Clerk shall attest to the passage of this Ordinance. The City Clerk shall cause the same to be published once in the official newspaper within 15 days after its adoption. This Ordinance shall become effective 30 days from its adoption. APPROVED AS TO FORM: 0