Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Safety Alarm Regulation topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Delaware County supervisors question proposed alarm "notice of intent" requirement during public hearing
Summary
At a public hearing on proposed Local Law 20, Delaware County supervisors and staff discussed a requirement that property owners file a notice of intent (NOI) for alarm systems; county staff said the NOI will be available online and could reduce unnecessary emergency responses.
Delaware County Board of Supervisors members on Tuesday examined a proposed Local Law 20 that would require property owners with alarm systems to file a notice of intent, or NOI, with county authorities.
The ordinance drew questions about enforcement and how the county would treat alarms for properties that had not filed an NOI. Steve, a county staff member who answered supervisors’ questions at the hearing, said the NOI is meant to create a searchable database for emergency dispatchers and that the form “will be available to PDF” so residents can complete and email it.
The law would require owners to provide contact information and other details so dispatchers can call a contact before sending officers for some alarm calls, Steve said. He told supervisors that if a property does not have a filed NOI and its alarm sounds, the sheriff’s office may treat an initial false alarm as a “freebie” and residents would have 14 days to submit an NOI afterward. “If they don’t have an NOI and the alarm goes off and it’s false, they have 14 days to give us an NOI,” Steve said.
Supervisors asked whether the sheriff’s office would decline to respond to alarms from properties without an NOI. Steve said the county would not adopt a blanket nonresponse policy and that the principal benefit of the NOI is to reduce unnecessary dispatches by allowing staff to call the listed contacts or otherwise verify whether a response is needed. He said the county expects private monitoring companies to submit NOIs as well.
Board members also asked about how the county will distribute and clerk NOIs. Steve said the county will make the form available online and accept emailed copies to streamline the process.
The hearing concluded with a voice vote to carry the item forward for consideration. The transcript records public questions and staff answers but does not show a final local-law adoption during this meeting.
The discussion followed an earlier public hearing and preceded a series of budget and grant resolutions adopted by the board during the same session.
