TOWN
OF
ST.
ORDINANCE
2006-01
An
Ordinance Regulating Activities of Transient
Merchants
and Solicitors in the Town of
The
Town Board of the Town of Troy, in order to best protect the health, safety and
welfare of its residents by monitoring and regulating the activities of
individuals who wish to sell or solicit door-to-door in the Town, hereby
ordains as follows:
§
144-1. Permit Required. It shall be unlawful for any
transient merchant or solicitor to engage in sales activity of any kind in the
Town of
§
144-2. Definitions. For
the purposes of this ordinance, the terms shown herein shall be defined as
follows:
APPLICANT — One who applies for a permit to engage in sales in the Town
as a transient merchant or solicitor.
CHARITABLE ORGANIZATION — A person, partnership, association or
corporation which provides the Clerk with proof of tax-exempt status pursuant
to Section 501(c)(3) or (4) of the United States Internal Revenue Code.
CLERK — The Clerk/Treasurer of the Town of
GOODS — Personal property of every kind including merchandise, materials,
and goods provided incidental to services offered or sold. The sale of goods
includes donations that are requested or required in exchange for the retention
of goods or services.
MERCHANT — A seller of goods.
PERMANENT MERCHANT — A merchant who, for at least six months has
continuously operated an established place of business in
PERMITTEE OR PERMIT HOLDER — Each individual and/or organization issued a
permit pursuant to this ordinance.
SHERIFF — St. Croix County Sheriff’s Department
SOLICITOR — An individual who, for him/herself or for any other person,
organization, society, association or corporation, personally solicits money,
property or financial assistance of any kind from persons who are not members
of the organization, society, association or corporation on whose behalf the
personal solicitation is/will be made.
TOWN — Town of
TRANSIENT MERCHANT — A person who engages in the sale of goods or
services in the Town on a temporary basis, without intent to become and who
does not become a permanent merchant.
§
144-3. Exemptions. The following activities are exempt from the
requirements of this ordinance:
A. Delivery
of newspapers, fuel, dairy products, bakery goods or frozen food to regular
customers on established routes and in response to a specific or continuing
request for such delivery by such customers.
B.
C. Taking
orders in a location in the Town other than the merchant’s established place of
business, for goods regularly offered for sale by a permanent merchant, where
such goods are then delivered to Town residents and where both sale and
delivery occur in regular course of business of the permanent merchant.
D. Where the
buyer initiates contact and specifically requests a home visit by the seller.
E. Sales
required by statute or court order and bona fide auctions presided over by an
auctioneer.
F. Sales
and solicitations by agents of charitable organizations described in IRC
§501(c)(3), and only after the Clerk is provided with proof of required
registration pursuant to
G. Direct
sales or solicitations by a veteran holding a state license issued pursuant to
(1) The veteran's name and
permanent address,
(2) The nature of the sales
or solicitations, and
(3) Proposed dates and times
of sales or solicitations.
§
144-4. Permit Procedure.
A. Permit
applicants shall provide the Clerk with the following information, on forms
that shall be available from the Clerk:
(1) Name,
permanent address, temporary address, telephone number(s) for the principal and
all agents of each permit applicant.
(2) Age, height, weight and
color of hair and eyes of each such individual.
(3) Name,
address and telephone number of the person or organization on whose behalf
sales or solicitation will be made in the Town.
(4) Location
and telephone number(s) from which sales or solicitation will be conducted, if
any.
(5) Nature
of sales or solicitation to be conducted and a brief description of the goods
and/or services offered.
(6) Dates
and times during which sales or solicitations will occur under the permit.
(7) How and when goods that
are sold will be delivered.
(8) Make,
model and license number of all vehicles that will be used in the door-to-door
conduct of sales or solicitation.
(9) Last
three cities, villages or towns where the applicant conducted similar sales or
solicitation activity.
(10) An
address and phone number where the applicant can be contacted for at least
seven days after leaving the Town.
(11) Disclosure,
as to the permit applicant and all agents of the permit applicant, of all
convictions for any crime or other statute or ordinance violation during the
last five years that is related to the applicant or agent’s sales or
solicitation activities in any way, and specifying the nature of the offense,
place of conviction/violation and approximate time of the conviction or
violation.
B. Permit
applicants shall present the following items to the Clerk as part of the
application process:
(1) A driver's license, or
other reliable proof of identity.
(2) Current
Sellers Permit issued by the Wisconsin Department of Revenue, where required.
(3) Health inspection
certifications, where applicable.
C. No permit
application shall be accepted until the application and investigation fees are
paid to the Clerk for the cost of investigation and processing the
registration. The application fee shall be $60.00. The investigation fee shall be $40.00 for
each agent who will operate in the Town on behalf of the applicant.
D. No permit
application shall be accepted unless the applicant signs a statement submitting
to the personal and subject matter jurisdiction of the St. Croix County Circuit
Court with reference to all activity undertaken in the Town and authorizing the
Clerk to accept service of process in any civil action brought against the applicant
and arising out of any sale, service performed or solicitation activities of
the applicant, and solely in the event that the applicant cannot, after
reasonable effort, be personally served.
§
144-5. Investigation;
Application Denial.
A. The Clerk
shall promptly forward a complete permit application to the Sheriff, who shall
conduct an investigation of the permit applicant. To the extent possible, the
Sheriff shall return the application to the Clerk with a recommendation for
approving or disapproving the application within five working days of receipt.
B. The
Clerk shall not issue a permit to an applicant if the Sheriff’s investigation
shows any of the following:
(1) The
application contains material omissions or materially inaccurate statements.
(2) Material
complaints concerning the applicant or any agent of the applicant were received
in any of the last three municipalities in which the applicant conducted direct
sales or solicitations.
(3) The
applicant or any agent of the applicant was convicted of a crime or was found
to have committed a statutory or ordinance violation during the last five years
that is directly related to the applicant's or agent’s fitness to engage in
selling or solicitation in the Town, in the judgment of the Sheriff or the
Clerk.
(4) The applicant otherwise
has failed to comply with this ordinance.
C. Appeal.
An applicant who is denied a permit by the Clerk may appeal the denial by
filing a written statement with the Clerk within 14 days after receiving written
notice of permit denial, setting forth the grounds for the appeal and
requesting a hearing. The Town Board shall hear the matter at its next regular
meeting. The applicant shall be given
written notice of the hearing.
§
144-6. Permit Issuance.
A. Following
receipt of the application, investigation and payment of the fees, the Clerk
shall register the applicant as a transient merchant or solicitor and issue a
permit for such activity. The applicant and each agent shall sign and date the
application form, acknowledging receipt of a copy of this ordinance.
B. The
permit shall bear the Clerk’s signature, the name and address of the transient merchant or solicitor, the type of
goods or services being sold or the nature of the solicitation, and the license
number of any vehicle(s) being used in the Town for sales or solicitation.
C. Permit holders shall exhibit their Town
permit:
(1) On any stand, cart, or
other similar device used for sales;
(2) At
each residence and to each individual where sales or solicitation activity is
attempted; and
(3) To any police officer or
Town official who requests that it be shown.
D. A permit
issued pursuant to this ordinance expires annually, on December 31. There shall
be no prorating of any fees.
§
144-7. Prohibited Acts;
Disclosure Requirements.
A. Prohibited practices.
(1) A transient merchant or
solicitor shall not:
(a) Call
at any dwelling between the hours of 8:00 p.m. and 9:00 a.m., unless by advance
appointment.
(b) Call
at any dwelling or other place where a sign is displayed that says "No
Peddlers," "No Solicitors" or words of similar meaning.
(c) Call
at or otherwise seek to enter the rear door of any dwelling.
(2) Transient
merchants and solicitors shall not misrepresent or make false, deceptive or
misleading statements about the quality, quantity or character of any goods or
services offered for sale, about the purpose of the visit, about his/her
identity or about the identity of the organization he/she represents. A
transient merchant or solicitor representing a charitable or religious
organization shall, upon request, specifically disclose what portion of the
donation or sale price of goods being offered will actually be used for the
charitable or religious purpose for which the individual is soliciting, as a
percentage of the sale price of the goods or services.
B. Disclosure Requirements.
(1) After
the initial greeting and before any attempt at sales or solicitation is made, a
transient merchant or solicitor shall provide the prospective customer or donor
with his/her name, the name of the company or organization he/she is affiliated
with, identify the goods or services he/she wants to sell and show the Town
permit to the prospective customer or donor.
(2) If
a transient merchant or solicitor takes an order that requires or calls for the
later delivery of goods, he/she shall, at the time the order is taken, provide
the buyer with a written statement containing all terms of their sales
agreement, the amount paid in advance whether full, partial or none, the name,
address and telephone number of the seller, the anticipated delivery date,
whether any guaranty or warranty exits and, if so, the terms thereof.
(3) Transient
merchants, and solicitors shall comply with all applicable provisions of the
Wisconsin Consumer Act as set forth in
§
144-8. Record of Violations. The Sheriff shall report to the Clerk all
convictions for violations of this ordinance.
The Clerk shall note such violation on the record of the permit holder.
The Clerk shall keep a record of all complaint or reports of alleged violations
from Town residents or Sheriff’s representatives.
§
144-9. Permit Revocation.
A. A permit
issued under this ordinance may be revoked by the Town Board, after notice and
hearing, upon determining that a permit holder has:
(1) made
a material omission or materially inaccurate statement in an application for
registration;
(2) made
a fraudulent, false, deceptive or misleading statement or representation in the
course of engaging in transient sales or solicitation;
(3) been
determined to have violated any provision of
the Wisconsin Consumer Act;
(4) been
convicted of any crime or found guilty of any ordinance or statute violation
directly related to the permit holder's fitness to engage in sales or
solicitations;
(5) engaged
in any other conduct that the Town Board finds to jeopardize the public health,
safety, and welfare.
B. Written
notice of the Town Board meeting at which revocation will be considered shall
be served personally on the permit holder at least 72 hours prior to the
hearing and shall contain the time and place of hearing and a general statement
of the grounds on which revocation is being considered.
§
144-10. Violations and
Penalties. Sales or
solicitation activity not in compliance with this ordinance violates it
regardless of knowledge or intent to violate, and shall subject the party or
parties responsible to an action for an injunction to require that the
violation be cured or ceased or that remedial action be undertaken to achieve
compliance, and/or an action for forfeiture(s), in an amount set by the Town
Board, plus the Town’s actual costs of prosecution. The amount of the forfeiture shall be set
forth in the Town’s Citation Ordinance.
Each day during which a violation exists is a separate offense. The remedies set forth herein are cumulative.
§
144-11. Severability Clause. If any part of this ordinance is found by a
court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, unenforceable, or
unconstitutional, the validity of the remaining sections of the ordinance shall
not be affected.
§
144-12. Inclusion in Code. It is the intention of the Town Board and it
is hereby provided that the provisions of this chapter may be made part of the
Code of the Town of Troy; that this ordinance may be renumbered or relettered
to accomplish such intention; and that the word "ordinance" may be
changed to "section," "article," “chapter,” or other
appropriate designation at that time.
Enacted by the Troy Town Board this 8th day of June, 2006.