(A) Every application for a license to maintain, operate or conduct a pawn shop business shall file a complete application under oath with the city upon a form provided by the city and shall pay a nonrefundable application fee in an amount set by ordinance. To be eligible for or to maintain a license, a person must meet the criteria specified in M.S. §325J.03. The application, once accepted, shall be referred to the Police Department for investigation. Copies of this application shall be forwarded to such other city departments as the City Council shall deem necessary for verification and investigation of the facts set forth in the application. The Chief of Police and such other department heads shall make written recommendations to the City Council as to the issuance or non-issuance of the license within 30 days of the filing of the application. The number of licenses the City Council may issue pursuant to this chapter is one.
(B) (1) The billable transaction license fee shall be set by ordinance of the City Council and shall reflect the cost of processing transactions from the licensee and other related regulatory expenses as determined by the City Council, and shall be reviewed and adjusted, if necessary, at least every year. Licensees shall be notified in writing 30 days before any adjustment is implemented. Billable transaction fees shall be billed monthly and are due and payable within 30 days. Failure to make a payment within 30 days is a violation of this chapter.
(2) All licenses shall expire at the end of each calendar year. A new application fee shall be required whenever there is a change in the facts presented by the application other than the date, applicant's home address or building owner's address, or in the case of any license not renewed prior to its expiration.
(C) All applicants requesting a license pursuant to this chapter will be required to submit to a background investigation, including, but not limited to a criminal history check. The complete application form shall contain all information indicated, including:
(1) Full name, place, date of birth, and street residence of the applicant;
(2) The business address of the applicant;
(3) A statement as to whether within the preceding five years, the applicant has been convicted of any felony and/or the violation of any law relating to theft, damage or trespass to property, sale of a controlled substance, or the operation of any business; the nature of any such offense and the penalty assessed;
(4) Whether the applicant is a natural person, corporation or partnership:
(a) If the applicant is a corporation, the state of incorporation and the full names and addresses of all officers and directors;
(b) If the applicant is a partnership, the full names and addresses of all partners;
(5) Whether the applicant holds a current pawnbroker, precious metal dealer or secondhand goods dealer license from any other governmental unit;
(6) Whether the applicant has previously been denied, or had revoked or suspended, a pawnbroker, precious metal dealer, or secondhand dealer license from any other governmental unit;
(7) The location of the business premises;
(8) If the applicant does not own the business premises, a true and complete copy of the executed lease;
(9) The legal description of the premises to be licensed;
(10) Whether all real estate and personal property taxes that are due and payable for the premises to be licensed have been paid, and if not paid, the years and amounts that are unpaid; and
(11) The full name of the manager or proprietor of the business.
(D) Each application shall be accompanied by a bond in an amount set yearly by the City Council, executed by a corporation authorized to do business in Minnesota and conditioned that in conducting the business the licensee will observe all laws in relation to pawnbrokers and will conduct business in conformity thereto and that the licensee will account for and deliver to any person legally entitled any goods which have come into the licensee's hand through the licensee's business as a pawnbroker, or in lieu thereof, will pay the reasonable value in money to the person.
(E) The bond shall be maintained for so long as the pawnbroker does business as such for the benefit of the city or any person who shall suffer any damage through the act of the pawnbroker and shall not be terminable without the bond company giving written notice 30 days in advance of termination to the City Clerk.
(F) If the applicant is a natural person, the application shall be signed and sworn to by the person; if a corporation, by the agent authorized to sign; if a partnership, by a partner.
(G) No person shall make any material false statement in the application. In addition to other penalties, the licensee's license may be revoked by the City Council for giving false information on the application.
(Ord. 679, passed 7-7-09; Am. Ord. 782, passed 4-16-19) Penalty, See § 10.99