*Cross references: Administration, ch. 2; fire prevention and protection, ch. 7.
State law references: Emergency preparedness act, MCL 30.401 et seq., MSA 4.824(11) et seq.; governor's emergency powers, MCL 10.31 et seq., MSA 3.4(1) et seq.

ARTICLE I. IN GENERAL

Secs. 6-1--6-25. Reserved.
ARTICLE II. ALARM SERVICES
DIVISION 1. GENERALLY
Sec. 6-26. Purpose, general powers, and duties.
(a) The charter township determines that there exists an unjustified increase in the amount of public safety resources expended in responding to false alarms for emergency assistance which can be avoided, provided that alarm devices incorporate appropriate design techniques, necessary features, be properly installed, regularly maintained, and properly utilized. In order to reduce the burden imposed upon the general public caused by false alarms, the police department shall establish a program for:
(1) Informing the public of methods to minimize false alarms;
(2) Issuing permits for alarm system;
(3) Developing policy and criteria for identifying those false alarms that are avoidable through the application of proper system design, installation, maintenance, training, application use, and equipment features;
(4) Creating, maintaining and analyzing records and data necessary for determining whether a particular alarm response was to a "false alarm" and if so, whether the false alarm was attributable to an avoidable deficiency in design, application, use, or other similar cause;
(5) Determining whether a particular false alarm was caused by one or more avoidable deficiency; suspending or revoking alarm permits for installations that are determined to be the source of excessive false alarms caused by one or more avoidable deficiency; providing information to the public that will alleviate, or cure, avoidable deficiencies in alarms, alarm systems, and their application and operation.
(b) All citizens of the charter township shall abide by this article, all regulations promulgated under the authority of this article, and co-operate fully with the police department for the realization of these objectives.
(Ord. No. 155, § 1, 10-16-91)
Sec. 6-27. Definitions.
The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this article, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning:
Alarm system means any assembly of equipment and devices, or a single device, except for an alarm system on a motor vehicle, that emits, transmits or relays a signal intended to summon, or that would reasonably be expected to summon emergency services of the township.
Alarm user means and includes the owner of the land or premises within which an alarm system is installed; the tenant, occupant, or person having possession or control of any premises in which an alarm system is installed and any person having actual or constructive possession of an alarm system, when such alarm system signals an emergency.
Chief means the chief of police of the charter township acting personally or through a duly authorized representative.
Emergency means a hazard, condition, or situation calling for immediate action or urgent attention and to which municipal public safety personnel are customarily expected to respond on an immediate or high priority basis.
False alarm means a signal given by an alarm system when no emergency is found by the public safety personnel that respond to the alarm.
Public safety personnel means and includes township police officers, dispatchers, firemen and other employees of the charter township who provide emergency services to persons and/or to property within the township.
(Ord. No. 155, § 2, 10-16-91)
Sec. 6-28. Presumption as to alarm user.
For purposes of prosecuting violations of the penal provision of this article, and for purposes of collecting the fees incurred because of excessive at-fault false alarms, the alarm user is presumed to be that person whose name appears on the most recent assessment roll approved by the board of review, as updated, associated with the real or personal property protected by the alarm system.
(Ord. No. 155, § 16, 10-16-91)
Sec. 6-29. Automatic dialing prohibited.
(a) No person shall install or use a device or combination of devices which will, upon activation, either mechanically, electronically, or by other means, initiate the automatic intrastate calling, dialing, or connection to any telephone number assigned to the charter township police department, or the 911 emergency number which connects or assigns the call to the department or its dispatchers.
(b) No alarm system will be permitted to terminate at the charter township police department. Also, no alarm signal shall cover more than one business place and/or residence, meaning that buildings with more than one business must have a separate alarm signal for each business located therein, provided that each business has a separate entrance. No single alarm signal may cover a grouping of houses, apartments or condominiums which have separate entrances to each unit.
(Ord. No. 155, § 3, 10-16-91)
Sec. 6-30. Automatic shut-off required.
All alarm systems hereafter installed which emit a signal audible beyond the boundaries of the property protected must have an automatic shut-off feature, which silences the audible portion of the alarm not more than ten minutes after being tripped. All persons shall terminate the use of existing alarm systems which lack this automatic shut-off feature within 60 days after October 24, 1991.
(Ord. No. 155, § 4, 10-16-91)
Sec. 6-31. Responsibility of police department.
The police chief or an authorized representative has primary responsibility for the administration of this article. By way of example and not limitation, the police chief shall promulgate procedures, regulations, and guidelines; establish a system for notifying alarm user each time public safety personnel respond to a false alarm; develop a program that provides each alarm user an opportunity to submit a written or oral explanation for each false alarm; provide a system for recording and keeping records of alarm permits, activation or sounding of alarms, false alarms, and at-fault alarms.
(Ord. No. 155, § 7, 10-16-91)
Sec. 6-32. Penalty.
A person who violates any provision of this article is responsible for a municipal civil infraction, subject to payment of a civil fine as specified in section 1-10 of this Code, plus costs and other sanctions, for each infraction. Repeat offenses shall be subject to increased fines as provided by section 1-10 of this Code.
(Ord. No. 155, § 18, 10-16-91; Ord. No. 155A, § 1, 4-8-98)
Secs. 6-33--6-45. Reserved.
DIVISION 2. PERMITS
Sec. 6-46. Required.
All alarm systems installed, maintained or used within the township shall require an alarm permit as provided herein.
(Ord. No. 155, § 5, 10-16-91)
Sec. 6-47. Time to obtain.
(a) Permits must be obtained for alarm systems in existence on October 16, 1991 within 60 days thereafter. In all other cases, a permit must be obtained before the system is installed and used.
(b) It is unlawful to cause or allow an alarm system requiring a permit to be used unless there is a valid permit for that system. Should a false alarm occur for any reason at a location for which a permit has not been obtained, the alarm user will be charged as a second or subsequent offender in an amount as determined under section 6-65.
(Ord. No. 155, § 6, 10-16-91)
Sec. 6-48. Contents of application.
Applications for permits shall be filed with the charter township police department on forms provided and furnished by the police department. The alarm user shall provide the following:
(1) The alarm user's name, address and telephone number;
(2) The street address of the property at which the alarm system is maintained;
(3) The name, address and telephone number of the alarm company which installed and/or monitors the alarm system, if any, and the name and telephone number of at least one other person or firm who can be reached at any time, day or night, and who, within a 30-minute response time can open the premises within which the alarm system is installed and deactivate the signal if necessary;
(4) An affirmation in writing and signed by the alarm user which states that the alarm system is equipped with a functional automatic shutoff device, as required by section 6-30.
(Ord. No. 155, § 8, 10-16-91)
Sec. 6-49. Issuance.
The police chief or designated representative shall act upon each application within a reasonable time and shall issue a permit when it determines that the application and proposed alarm system conform to the requirements of this article, the other ordinances of the charter township and other applicable state laws and regulations.
(Ord. No. 155, § 9, 10-16-91)
Secs. 6-50--6-60. Reserved.
DIVISION 3. FALSE ALARMS
Sec. 6-61. Due care in operation required.
Every alarm user shall exercise due care to install, maintain and use every alarm system so as to avoid its signalling false alarms. Every alarm user shall diligently instruct, supervise, and control those having access to the alarm system and the alarmed premises, and shall take all reasonable steps to prevent the system from signalling false alarms.
(Ord. No. 155, § 10, 10-16-91)
Sec. 6-62. Excessive alarms.
Alarm systems which signal more than two at-fault alarms in any 12 consecutive month period are deemed to be abusive of public safety personnel, are declared to be a public nuisance, and are deemed an "excessive" number of at-fault false alarms for purposes of this article.
(Ord. No. 155, § 11, 10-16-91)
Sec. 6-63. Explanation for false alarm.
The chief of police or designated representative shall notify each alarm user each time public safety personnel respond to a false alarm, and offer the alarm user the opportunity to submit a written or oral explanation for the actuation of the alarm. Should the alarm user, after such notice, fail to provide a written explanation to the chief within 30 days of the date of mailing of such notification, the alarm will be deemed an at-fault false alarm.
(Ord. No. 155, § 12, 10-16-91)
Sec. 6-64. Determination of at-fault false alarm.
The police chief shall conduct an investigation concerning the explanation for the false alarm submitted by an alarm user according to section 6-63. Unless one of the following exceptions is found to exist, the false alarm shall be determined to be an at-fault false alarm:
(1) Alarm system malfunctions, if corrective measures have been instituted within a 72-hour period with notification to the township police department documenting repair service by a state licensed alarm company to remedy the malfunction.
(2) Alarm conditions activated by a person working on the alarm system with prior notification to the township police department.
(3) Alarms which can be substantiated as being activated by disruption or disturbance of utility company facilities or motor vehicle utility pole accidents or storm conditions.
(Ord. No. 155, § 13, 10-16-91)
Sec. 6-65. Fee charged for responding to at-fault alarms.
Every alarm user shall pay to the charter township a fee for responding to the second and subsequent at-fault false alarms signaled by that person's alarm system within any 12 consecutive month period. The schedule of false alarm fees shall be periodically set by resolution of the township board, but the fee shall not exceed the township's direct and indirect costs of responding to at-fault false alarms, administering the system of recording and classifying the alarms, and collecting and accounting for the user fee charged. Such fee shall be paid to within 30 days of written notice, shall be a debt in favor of the township, and the obligation of the alarm user.
(Ord. No. 155, § 14, 10-16-91)
Sec. 6-66. Corrective action.
The police chief may initiate corrective action in the event excessive at-fault false alarms are signaled by any alarm system. Such corrective actions may include one or more of the remedies enumerated in this article, institution of ordinance violation proceedings, imposition and collection of user fees by billing and/or prosecution actions, and the institution of civil proceedings for court-ordered abatement of nuisances. All of these remedies shall be cumulative.
(Ord. No. 155, § 15, 10-16-91)
Sec. 6-67. Fees assessed to real property.
Fees for responding to at-fault false alarms may be collected through the procedures prescribed in the Township Charter for special assessment debts.
(Ord. No. 155, § 17, 10-16-91)
Secs. 6-68, 6-69. Reserved.
ARTICLE III. EMERGENCY ACTION COST RECOVERY
Sec. 6-70. Purpose.
The purpose of this article is to establish the basis and method for the township to recover costs for the use of equipment, personnel and supplies associated with fire, rescue, and other emergency actions provided by the township, and to recover expenses incurred from response to such actions.
(Ord. No. 171, § 1, 11-21-01)
Sec. 6-71. Definitions.
For the purpose of this article, the following definitions shall apply:
Building shall mean any structure used or intended for supporting or sheltering any use or occupancy.
Emergency action shall mean all of the activities conducted in order to prevent or mitigate injury to human health or to the environment from a release or threatened release of any material into or upon the environment.
Hazardous material shall mean explosives, pyrotechnics, flammable compressed gas, flammable liquid, combustible liquid, oxidizing material, poisonous gas, poisonous liquid, poisonous solid, irritating material, etiological material, radioactive material, corrosive material, or liquefied petroleum gas.
Owner shall mean any individual, firm, company, association, society, corporation, partnership or group, including their officers and employees, who are either listed as the owner of record by the Oakland County Register of Deeds, have a land contract vendee interest in, or are listed as the taxpayer of record for the real property where the emergency, fire service, medical service, or hazardous material incident occurred, or have title, use, possession or control of the hazardous material or the vehicle used to transport same. Owner also means the individual, firm, company, association, society, corporation, partnership or group, including their officers and employees, who are listed as the record owner(s) by the Michigan Secretary of State of a vehicle (or other comparable state licensing agency for out-of-state vehicles) involved in an accident which prompts the need for emergency, fire or medical services.
Person shall include any individual, corporation, association, partnership, firm, trustee, or legal representative.
Premises shall mean any lot or parcel of land, exclusive of buildings, but including a parking lot, trailer camp, stock yard, junk yard, public roadway, park or recreation area and any other place or enclosure, however owned, used, or occupied.
Recoverable expenses are those expenses that are reasonable, necessary and allocable to the emergency action. Recoverable expenses shall not include normal expenditures that are incurred in the course of providing what are traditionally local services and responsibilities, such as routine firefighting. Expenses allowable for recovery may include, but are not limited to:
(1) Disposable materials and supplies acquired, consumed and expended specifically for the purpose of the emergency action.
(2) Compensation of employees for the time and efforts devoted specifically to the emergency action.
(3) Rental or leasing of equipment used specifically for the emergency action (such as protective equipment or clothing, scientific and technical equipment).
(4) Replacement costs for equipment owned by the township that is contaminated beyond reuse or repair, if the equipment was a total loss and the loss occurred during the emergency action (such as self-contained breathing apparatus irretrievably contaminated during the response).
(5) Decontamination of equipment contaminated during the response.
(6) Special technical services specifically required for the response (such as costs associated with the time and efforts of technical experts or specialists not otherwise provided for by the township).
(7) Other special services specifically required for the emergency action.
(8) Laboratory costs of analyzing samples taken during the emergency action.
(9) Costs of cleanup, storage, or disposal of hazardous materials.
(10) Costs associated with the services, supplies and equipment procured for a specific evacuation.
(11) Medical expenses incurred as a result of response activities.
(12) Legal expenses that may be incurred as a result of the emergency action, including efforts to recover expenses pursuant to this article.
Release shall mean any spilling, leaking, pumping, pouring, emitting, emptying, discharging, injecting, escaping, leaching, dumping or disposing into or upon the environment, which causes danger or harm to the public health or to the environment, including, but not limited to, the release of any material classified as hazardous material by any federal legislation or regulation, by any state or county legislation or regulation, or by any township ordinance.
Resident shall mean a person who has an address located within the township on their driver's license or who is a registered voter in the township.
Threatened release shall mean any imminent or impending event potentially causing but not resulting in a release, but causing the township to undertake an emergency action.
Township shall mean the Charter Township of Milford, Oakland County, Michigan.
Vehicle shall mean any device in, upon, or by which a person or property is or may be transported, including but not limited to, motor vehicles, trains, rail cars, boats, tractors, snowmobiles, watercraft and aircraft.
(Ord. No. 171, § 1, 11-21-01)
Sec. 6-72. Liability for recoverable expenses.
(a) Person(s) responsible.
(1) The owner, operator, occupant and/or other person responsible for the operation, maintenance, and/or condition of any building, premises, property, or vehicle or contributing to the causing of a release or threatened release which results in an emergency action shall be liable to the township for the recoverable expenses resulting from the emergency action. This shall be in addition to any and all penalties provided by law.
(2) Recoverable expenses charged to a person(s) shall constitute a debt of that person(s) and is collectible by the township in the same manner as an obligation under contract, express or implied.
(b) Recovery of expense.
(1) Township personnel and departments involved in an emergency action shall keep an itemized record of recoverable expenses resulting from an emergency action. Promptly after completion of an emergency action, the appropriate township department shall certify those expenses to the township clerk.
(2) The township shall submit a written itemized claim for the total expenses incurred by the township for the emergency action to the responsible person and a written notice that unless the amounts are paid in full within 30 days after the date of the mailing of the claim and notice, the township will file a civil action seeking recovery for the stated amount.
(3) The township may bring a civil action for recovery of the recoverable expenses against any and all persons causing or responsible for the emergency action.
(4) Any person or entity who disagrees with the bill for recoverable expenses may appeal said bill in writing to the township clerk within 30 days from the date of mailing or service of the bill to the responsible party. The township clerk shall forward the appeal to the township board for a determination regarding adjustment to the bill.
(Ord. No. 171, § 1, 11-21-01)
Sec. 6-73. Exemptions.
The following properties and services shall be exempt from emergency services fees:
(1) The rendering of emergency, fire, and medical services to residents of or property owners in the township where the activity which necessitated the emergency response was not in violation of any local, state or federal law, nor constituted gross negligence.
(2) Emergency, fire, and medical services which are rendered pursuant to a mutual aid agreement where the provisions of this article would conflict with the terms of the mutual aid agreement.
(3) Fires caused by trains which are the specific statutory responsibility of the railroad company.
(4) Emergency services involving township buildings, grounds, and/or property.
(Ord. No. 171, § 1, 11-21-01)
Sec. 6-74. Conflict with state, county or federal law.
Nothing in this article shall be construed to conflict with state, county or federal laws requiring persons causing or responsible for releases or threatened releases from engaging in remediation activities or paying the costs thereof, or both.
(Ord. No. 171, § 1, 11-21-01)