§ 15-8. Appeals.

(a)

Any person who believes that a service fee or civil penalty has been wrongfully assessed against him may appeal such assessment by submitting a letter to the chief of police within ten days of receiving the bill. The letter shall contain the person's name, complete address and telephone number, the reasons for disputing the fee or assessment and any other written evidence which might justify a change in the assessment.

(b)

The chief of police shall consider the evidence presented and render a written decision within ten days of his receipt of the appeal unless an extension has been agreed upon by both parties. The chief of police shall have the authority to waive, or rescind in whole or in part, a service fee or assessment if he believes that there is insufficient evidence to fully support the imposition of the service fee or assessment.

(c)

The chief of police may consider the following factors in reaching a determination on the appropriateness of a service fee or assessment:

(1)

Evidence of attempts by the person against whom the service fee is assessed to eliminate the cause of false alarms, such as:

a.

Installation of new equipment.

b.

Replacement of defective equipment.

c.

Certified inspection and repair of the system by an alarm system technician.

d.

Specific formal training of the alarm's users.

(2)

Evidence that the false alarm was caused by unusually severe weather conditions.

(3)

Evidence that the false alarm was caused by the disruption of telephone or electrical circuits beyond the control of the alarm user or the user's monitoring company and that the cause of such disruption has been corrected.

(4)

Evidence that the alarm system which caused the false alarm has been disconnected and removed from the protected premises.

Nothing in this section shall be interpreted to require the waiver or rescission of the service fee or assessment in appeals which meet any or all of the above factors. Such factors are intended as guidelines only and shall not prevent the chief of police from waiving or reducing service fees or assessments for any other reason.

(Code 1978, § 2.1-8)

(Code 1978, § 2.1-8)