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HomeMy WebLinkAboutO-661MW G' a� 0 w © i z Cn ORDINANCE NO. ��02 AN ORDINANCE PROVIDING FOR A LICENSE AND FOR BOOKKEEPING AND REPORTING PURPOSES FOR ITINERANT BUYERS OF GOLD AND SILVER, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO SECOND PRECIOUS METALS, GEMS, ETC. AND PROVIDING FOR VIOLATIONS AND PENALTIES THEREFOR. BE IT'ORDAINED BY THE CITY OF FAIRHOPE, ALABAMA, AS FOLL0WS Section One - It shall be unlawful for any "itinerant buyer" to conduct, pursue or carry on the business of purchasing gold, silver, or second-hand gold or silver, gems, or other precious metals, whether in the form of jewelry, household articles or furnishings, personal effects, bric-a-brac, settings for gems, watches, flatware, service sets, or other articles of like kind in the City of Fairhope, Alabama without first paying to the Cit3 License Department of the said City the license tax hereinafter prescribed, and procuring a license from the City of Fairhope, Alabama. Section Two - Itinerant Buyer defined: the term, "Itineran Buyer" as used herein shall be construed to mean any person, firm or corporation engaged in buying gold and/or silver or othez precious gems in any form described in Section One hereof, within the corporate limits of the City of Fairhope, Alabama or its Police Jurisdiction, who has not conducted said business for a period of more than one year; provided, however, that any person, firm or corporation which shall have conducted, pursued or carried on such business within the City of Fairhope for 365 days immediately preceding the beginning -of said business, shall not be construed to be an itinerant buyer.,within the meaning of this Ordinance. Section Three - The license tax hereby levied against od itinerant buyers shall be: $ s0 O per calendar year. Section Four - Application: Applicants for a license under this Ordinance shall file with the Clerk of the City of Fairhop( a sworn application, in writing, in duplicate, on a form to be furnished by the City of Fairhope, which shall give the followinj information: (a) Name and description of the applicant; (b) Full local address of the applicant, and the length of time the applicant has resided within the City; (c) If employed, the name and address of the employer, together with credentials establishing the relationship; (d) A brief description of the nature of the gold or silver or other gem or precious metals, buying to be done; (e) The length of time for which the right to do gold or silver, or other precious metals, buying is desired and the location where such buying is to be done; (f) A photograph of the applicant, taken within sixty (60) days immediately prior to the date of filing the application, which photograph shall be 2 inches by 2, showing the head and shoulders of the applicant in a clear and distinguishing manner; (g) The fingerprints of the applicant,and the names of at lease two reliable property owners of the county who will certify as to the applicant's good character and business re- spectability, or in lieu of the names of such references, such other available evidence as to the good character and business responsibility of the applicant, as will enable an investigator to properly evaluate such character and business responsibility; (h) A statement as to whether or not the applicant has been convicted of any crime, misdemeanor or violation of any municipal criminal ordinance, in any state, the nature of the offense and the punishment or penalty assessed therefor; and for any other crime or misdemeanor, whether in a municipality or not, and the punishment or penalty assessed therefor; -2- Section Five - Investigation fee. At the time of filing the 2��—Dollars n for the permit required by Section Four, a fee of shall be paid to the City Clerk to cover the costs of an investigation of the facts stated therein. Section Six - Investigation generally; issuance or refusa Upon receipt of an application for the license required by Section Four, the original shall be referred to the Chief of Police of the City, who shall cause such investigation of the applicant's business and moral character to be made as he deems necessary for the protection of the public good. If, as a result of such investigation, the applicant's character or business responsibility is found to be unsatisfactory or if he does not otherwise qualify under the provisions of this Ordinance, the Chief of Police shall endorse on such applicani his disapproval and; -the reason for the same anc return the application to the City Cl.erkwho shall notify.t.he:.applicant that his application is disapproved and that no permit will be issued. If, as a result of such investigation, the character and business responsibility of the applicant are found to be g:cff=;1ary-, and he otherwise qualifies under this Ordinance, the Chief of Police shall endorse on the application his approval, and return the application to the City Clerk who shall deliver to the applicant his license, in the same manner as to other licensees of the City. Section Seven - Signing and contents. The license required by Section Three shall contain the signature of the City Clerk and shall show the name, addresses and photographs of the licensee, the date of issuance and length of time the same shall be operative, as well as the license number. -3- 'A Section Eight - Record. The City Clerk shall keep a permanent record of all licenses issued under this Ordinance. Section Nine - Record to be kept by itinerant buyers; transcript to be furnished Chief of Police. Each applicant who secures a license under this Ordinance for purchasing gold or silver in any form set out in Section One hereof shall keep a book in which shall be entered promptly at the time of purchase a frief description of the articles or property purchased, the date and hour of the purchase and a brief description of the person from whom the purchase is made, to- Y'a"UR +- gether with theA address of such person. Each entry of such transaction shall be serially numbered on the book at the time of making the entry. Such buyer shall, on every day except Sunday, before the hour of 10:00 A.M., deliver to the Chief of Police, upon a form provided by him, a legible transcript of the business done during the business day immediately preceding the filing of the transcript. The report on Monday shall cover the transcript of the book covering Saturday's purchases, and Sunday's, if any. Section Ten - Registration of licensees. Each licensee under this Ordinance shall promptly, after the beginning of business, register with the Chief of Police in a book kept for that purpose, his name, address and every place where he carries on business or stores property. Section Eleven - Inspection of records of licensees. The books and records kept by each licensee of the articles des- cribed in Section One, above, shall be open for inspection by the Chief of Police or by any officer of the Police Department of the City of Fairhope at all times and the licensee and his agents and employees shall at all times exhibit the book to such officers on request. -4- Section Twelve - Identification of articles purchased. Each licensee under this Ordinance purchasing gold or silver or any other precious metal, in any form set out in Section One hereof, shall attach to or place on each such article purchased a tag or other identifying mark or label numbered to correspond with the serial number of the book re- quired by Section Nine to be kept; except, where small articles are bought in bulk and are too numerous to conveniently tag or mark, an identifying number shall be placed on the container or wrapper in which the articles are kept or placed. Section Thirteen - Time articles to be held after purchased. The property of the kind described in Section One of this Ordinance shall be held in the same form, shape or condition in which they were purchased, without mutilation, melting, re- duction to block or lump form, or destruction of the form thereof for a period of 48 hours after the hour when the licensee reports the purchase to the Chief of Police, during which time said article or articles shall be open to inspection or examination by the Chief of Police, or such officer or officers of the Police Department as may be delegated to make such examination or inspection, unless permission for change in form or sale is obtained in writing from the Chief of Police after the filing of the report required by Section Nine. Section Fourteen - The word, "applicant" when used herein shall include the plural where applicable, and all agents, officers, servants or employees of the applicant in the City of Fairhope, if the applicant is other than a sole proprietor. Section Fifteen - Application; violations. The provisions of this Ordinance shall be binding upon every employee or agent of the buyer of the articles described in Section One hereof, and it shall be unlawful and an offense against the City for any such licensee or his agents, servants, officers or employees to fail or refuse to carry out the pro- -5- visiions of this Ordinance. Any person who shall violate any provisions of this Ordinance or do any business within the City of Fairhope, or its Police Jurisdiction, as defined in this Ordinance, without first obtaining the��Apeerrmit or license as provided herein or keep the necessary'as provided herein, shall be subject to a fine in an amount not to exceed $500.00 or imprisonment in the City Jail not to exceed six (6) months, or to both such fine and imprisonment, in the discretion of the Court trying the case. Each violation of this Ordinance shall constitute a separatE offense. Section Sixteen - If any Section, sentence, paragraph, clause, phrase or word of this Ordinance is for any reason held or declared to be unconstitutional, inoperative or void, by a Court of competent jurisdiction, such holding or invalidity shall not affect the remaining portions of this Ordinance, and it shall be construed to have been the intent of the City Council of the City of Fairhope, Alabama to pass this Ordinance without such unconstitutional,, invalid or inoperative part therein, and the remainder of this Ordinance shall be deemed and held to be valid as if such parts had not been included therein. Section Seventeen - Effective Date. This Ordinance shall take effect upon its due adoption and publication as required by law. ,/ ADOPTED THIS THE �7' DAY OF 1930. ATT C i r� CA u M