(A) Required. It shall be unlawful for any person to engage in business as a solicitor or canvasser without a license.
(Prior Code, § 27-63)
(B) Application. A person desiring the license required by the provisions of this section shall file a sworn application (in duplicate) with the City Clerk giving the following information and submittals:
(1) His or her name;
(2) His or her permanent home address;
(3) His or her local address;
(4) A general physical description of himself or herself;
(5) A brief description of the nature of the business and the goods to be sold;
(6) The name and address of his or her employer and credentials establishing his or her exact relationship to his or her employer;
(7) The length of time the applicant expects to do business in the city;
(8) The place where the goods or property proposed to be sold, or orders taken for the sale thereof, are manufactured or produced, where such goods or products are located at the time said application is filed, and the proposed method of delivery;
(9) A statement as to whether or not the applicant has been convicted of any crime, misdemeanor or violation of any municipal ordinance, the nature of the offense and the punishment or penalty assessed therefor;
(10) A photograph of himself or herself taken within 60 days prior to the filing of the application showing his or her head and shoulders in a clear and distinguishing manner;
(11) His or her fingerprints;
(12) The names of at least two property owners in the county who will certify to the applicant’s good character and business responsibility, or, in lieu of the names of references, such other available evidence as to the good character and business responsibility of the applicant as will enable an investigator to property evaluate character and business responsibility.
(Prior Code, § 27-64)
(C) Processing and issuance.
(1) Upon receipt of an application for a canvasser’s or solicitor’s license the original shall be referred to the Chief of Police who shall cause such investigation of the applicant’s business and moral character to be made as he or she deems necessary for the protection of the public welfare. A person applying for a license who has resided in the city for a period of one year or more may be licensed pending the investigation of such person’s criminal record; other persons shall not be issued a license until their criminal record has been investigated.
(2) If, as a result of such investigation, the applicant’s character or business responsibility is found to be unsatisfactory, the Chief of Police shall endorse on such application his or her disapproval and his or her reasons for the same, and return the said application to the City Clerk who shall notify the applicant that his or her application is disapproved and that no license will be issued.
(3) If, as a result of such investigation, the character and the business responsibility of the applicant are found to be satisfactory, the Chief of Police shall endorse on the application his or her approval, execute a license addressed to the applicant for the carrying on of the business applied for and return said license along with the application to the City Clerk, who shall, upon payment of the prescribed fee, issue the license.
(Prior Code, § 27-65)
(D) Fee. A person desiring the license required by the provisions of this section shall pay a fee of $300 to the City Clerk.
(Prior Code, § 27-66)
(E) Bond. Every applicant for a canvasser’s or solicitor’s license who is not a resident of the city, or who represents a firm whose principal place of business is located outside of the state, shall file with the City Clerk a surety bond, running to the city in the amount of $1,000, with surety acceptable and approved by the Mayor, conditioned that the said applicant shall comply fully with all the provisions of the ordinances of the city and the statutes of the state concerning solicitors and guaranteeing to any citizen of the city that all money paid as a down payment will be accounted for and applied according to the representations of the solicitor, and further guaranteeing to any citizen of the city doing business with said solicitor, that the property purchased will be delivered according to the representations of said solicitor. Action on such bond may be brought in the name of the city to the use or benefit of the aggrieved person.
(Prior Code, § 27-67)
(F) Form. A license issued pursuant to this section shall contain:
(1) The signature and seal of the issuing officer;
(2) The name, address and photograph of the licensee;
(3) The class of license issued and the kind of goods to be sold thereunder;
(4) The amount of fee paid;
(5) The date of issuance and the length of time the license shall be operative; and
(6) The license number and other identifying description of any vehicle used in such soliciting or canvassing.
(Prior Code, § 27-68)
(G) Display.
(1) A person who has been issued a license pursuant to the provisions of this section shall display it upon request to any police officer.
(2) Police officers shall require solicitors or canvassers not known to them to display their licenses.
(Prior Code, § 27-69)
(H) Expiration and renewal. Solicitors’ or canvassers’ licenses shall be issued for a term not exceeding one year and shall be renewable on the first Monday in June of each year.
(Prior Code, § 27-70)
(I) Record. The City Clerk shall keep a record of all licenses issued pursuant to this section.
(Prior Code, § 27-71)
(Ord. 604, passed 2-6-1978; Ord. 867, passed 8-28-1989; Ord. 1057, passed 12-21-1998) Penalty, see § 10.999
Charter reference:
Power of city to set license fee, see § 177