(a) Before operating any special purpose vehicle on any public highway, street, road or alley within in the corporate limits of the city and each calendar year thereafter, the vehicle shall be registered with the city and a license shall be obtained and placed on the vehicle. The license fee shall be $25 per calendar year, payable in advance to the City Clerk. The full amount of the license fee shall be required regardless of the time of year that the application is made.
(b) Application for registration of a special purpose vehicle shall be made by owner, or owner’s agent, in the office of the City Clerk. The application shall be made upon forms provided by the city and each application shall contain the name of the owner, the owner’s residence address or bona fide place of business, a brief description of the vehicle to be registered (including make, model and serial number, if applicable). Proof of insurance, as required in § 14-304 shall be furnished at the time of application for registration.
(c) After establishing proof of insurance and payment of fees herein provided, a license shall be issued to the owner who shall attach it to the vehicle. The license shall be displayed in such a manner as to be clearly visible from the vehicle. The license number on the application will be recorded and then filed in the Police Department.
(d) It is unlawful for any person to willfully or maliciously remove, destroy, mutilate or alter such license during the time in which the same is operative.
(e) The license issued hereunder is not transferrable. In the event of sale or other transfer of ownership of an vehicle license under the provision of this section, the existing license and the right to use the numbered license shall expire, and the license shall be removed by the owner. It is unlawful for any person other than the person to whom the license was originally issued to have the same in his or her possession.
(f) In the event a license is lost or destroyed, the City Clerk shall issue a new license in accordance with the provisions of this section upon the payment of a $25 fee.
(g) It shall be unlawful for any person to:
(1) Operate, or for the owner either of knowingly to permit the operation, upon a public street, road, highway or alley within the corporate limits of the city, any special purpose vehicle which is not registered and which does not have attached thereto and displayed thereon the license assigned thereto by the city for the current registration year;
(2) Display, cause or permit to be displayed, or to have in possession, any registration receipt, registration license, or registration decal knowing the same to be fictitious or to have been canceled, revoked, suspended or altered. A violation of this division (g)(2) shall constitute an unclassified misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not more than $500 and forfeiture of the item. A mandatory court appearance shall be required of any person violating this division (g)(2);
(3) Lend to or knowingly permit the use by one not entitled thereto any registration receipt, registration license plate or registration decal issued to the person so lending or permitting the use thereof;
(4) Remove, conceal, alter, mark or deface the license number plate, plates or decals, or any other mark of identification upon any special purpose vehicle. Licenses shall be kept clean and placed as required by law so as to be plainly visible and legible; or
(5) Carry or display a registered number plate or plates or registration decal upon any special purpose vehicle not lawfully issued for such vehicle.
(h) Except as otherwise may be provided, herein, any person convicted of a violation of any of the provision of this article, shall for the first conviction thereof, be punished by a fine of not more than $250; for a second such conviction within one year thereafter, such person shall be punished by a fine of not more that $500; upon a third or subsequent conviction within one year after the first conviction, such person shall be punished by a fine of not more than $1,000 and/or a jail term of not more than 30 days.
(Ord. 18-0709, passed 7-9-2018; Ord. 22-0912, passed 9-12-2022)