(A) (1) No person, firm or corporation shall establish or operate a pawnbroker business without first having applied for and been granted the license provided by this section.
(2) Every application for a pawnbroker’s license shall be upon a form approved by the Board of Commissioners and shall be filed with the Tax Administrator. Each application shall be made under oath and shall contain the following information:
(a) The name and address of the person, and in case of a firm or partnership, the names and addresses of the persons composing the firm or of the officers of a corporation;
(b) The name of the business and the street address and mailing address where the business is to be operated;
(c) A statement indicating the amount of net assets or capital proposed to be used by the petitioner in operation of the business; (This statement shall be accompanied by an unaudited statement from an accountant verifying the information contained in the statement.)
(d) An affidavit by the petitioner that he has not been convicted of a felony; and
(e) A certificate from the County Sheriff or the State Bureau of Investigation certifying that the petitioner has not been convicted of a felony.
(3) The Tax Administrator shall transmit a copy of the application to the Sheriff’s Department for an investigative report, to the Inspections Department for a determination as to compliance with zoning and development regulations, and to the Fire Marshal to determine compliance with laws relating to fire protection. These departments shall report back to the Tax Administrator within a reasonable period of time not to exceed 30 days.
(4) An application in proper form shall be placed on the printed agenda of the first regular Board of Commissioner meeting after completion of the reports and for which the normal agenda deadline date can be met.
(B) (1) Before issuing a license, the Board of Commissioners shall be satisfied that the applicant is a suitable person to hold a pawnbroker license and that the location is a suitable place to hold the proposed license. To be a suitable place, the establishment shall comply with all the rules and regulations set out in G.S. Ch. 91A. Other factors the Commissioners may consider in determining whether the applicant and the business location are suitable shall include all of the following:
(a) The application contains no misstatement of fact;
(b) The applicant conforms to all requirements of applicable zoning, building and fire prevention codes;
(c) The applicant shall not have been convicted of a felony within a ten-year period preceding the filing of the application;
(d) Parking facilities and traffic facilities in the neighborhood;
(e) The recommendations of the County Sheriff;
(f) Any other evidence that would tend to show whether the applicant would comply with the provisions of G.S. §§ 66-385 through 66-399 and the applicable provisions of this chapter and whether the operation of the business at that location would be detrimental to the neighborhood.
(2) Upon approval of the application by the Board of Commissioners and upon receipt of a license fee of $275, the Tax Administrator shall issue a pawnbrokers license to the applicant. The license must be renewed annually.
(3) At the time of receiving the license, the applicant shall file with the Clerk to the Board of Commissioners a bond payable to the county in the amount of $5,000 to be executed by the licensee and by two sureties or a surety company licensed to do business in the state, which shall be for the faithful performance of the requirements and obligations pertaining to the licensed business. The county may sue for forfeiture of the bond upon breach, and any other person who obtains a judgment against a pawnbroker and upon which judgment execution is returned unsatisfied may maintain an action in his or her own name upon the bond to satisfy the judgment.
(Ord. passed 4-17-2000) Penalty, see § 110.99