[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Board of Aldermen of the Town of Dover 7-27-1970 as Art. 34 of the 1969 Revised Ordinances; amended in its entirety 12-9-1974. Subsequent amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Junk dealers — See Ch. 229.
Pawnbrokers — See Ch. 269.
Peddling and soliciting — See Ch. 273.
Special sales — See Ch. 301.
The purposes of this chapter are to:
A. 
License and regulate the auctioneer and the auction of goods, wares and merchandise, whether the goods sold are owned by the auctioneer or not.
B. 
Protect the public from fraud.
C. 
Raise revenue to cover the cost of regulating said auction.
It shall be unlawful for any person, firm, partnership, association or corporation to conduct an auction or do business as an auctioneer within the Town of Dover unless a license therefor shall first be obtained from the Mayor and Board of Aldermen of the Town of Dover.
An application for a license shall be made with the Town Clerk, who shall bring the matter before the Mayor and Board of Aldermen at the next regular meeting following the presentation of said application to the Town Clerk. Such application shall give the following information:
A. 
Home address and place of business where the auction is to be held.
B. 
Name and address of the auctioneers who are to conduct the sale.
C. 
Date or dates of the auction and hours of sale.
D. 
A general statement of the articles to be sold.
E. 
A disclosure of any convictions either of the applicant or the auctioneer, for violation of any crime, statute or of this chapter or any similar ordinance.
Said application shall be considered by the Mayor and Board of Aldermen, who may reasonably exercise their powers of discretion as follows:
A. 
Refer the application to an appropriate committee for investigation, recommendation and report at a subsequent meeting.
B. 
Require the posting of cash or a bond with sufficient surety not to exceed the sum of $5,000 conditioned to indemnify and satisfy any judgment which may be rendered against the applicant in favor of any purchaser who may bring an action to any court of proper jurisdiction, against the applicant for any cause arising out of the purchase or sale of merchandise at said auction, or any representation made at the sale with reference to the quantity or quality or character of the merchandise, goods and wares sold by the auction. If no action be brought against the applicant for a period of 90 days from the posting said cash or surety bond, said cash or bond shall be returned to the applicant, except in instances where the applicant has an annual license, then, in that instance, the bond shall be posted for the period of the annual license.
C. 
Refuse to grant a license to applicants who are regularly in business or those who are itinerants or who rent quarters temporarily for the purpose of conducting a sale by auction.
D. 
Limit the time during which the licensee may conduct the auction.
E. 
Limit the hours of sale to daylight hours in the sale by auction of such merchandise as jewelry and precious stones, where there is a possibility of the public being misled or deceived by the display of said merchandise under artificial light.
A. 
No licensee shall misrepresent quality, kind, origin, value or condition of anything offered for sale.
B. 
No licensee shall permit on the premises or employ any person who acts for the licensee either as a by-bidder or who shall booster any person who shall make a bid other than good.
C. 
No licensee shall violate any of the rules and regulations or ordinances of the Town of Dover and the various departments and agencies thereunder.
The Mayor and Board of Aldermen shall in their sound discretion have the right to refuse the licensee to conduct a sale by auction for proper cause or if the premises be unsafe, be a fire hazard or if said sale will interfere with the reasonable flow of traffic or hinder pedestrians in the use of sidewalks. The Mayor and Board of Aldermen, upon recommendation of the Fire Committee, may limit the number of people in attendance at any auction at any one time to such numbers as may be safe in the event of fire or other emergencies.
[Amended 11-26-1991 by Ord. No. 39-1991]
License fees shall be as follows:
A. 
Fifty dollars for a license for one day.
B. 
Five hundred dollars for an annual license.
Whenever the word "person" is used herein, it shall also refer to a firm, partnership, association or corporation.
The Mayor and Board of Aldermen may refuse to grant a license to any person or auctioneer who shall have been convicted of a violation of this chapter or of a misdemeanor or other crime for a period of five years after such conviction.
Any person violating any provision of this chapter shall, upon conviction, be subject to one or more of the following: a fine of not more than $1,000 for each conviction, a term of imprisonment not exceeding 90 days or a period of community service not exceeding 90 days. Each violation shall be considered a separate offense.
[1]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code; see Chapter 1, General Provisions, Art. I.
Nothing in this chapter shall be held to apply to any public auction or sale made or conducted by a public officer by virtue of any judicial order or process or by virtue of any power of authority contained in a mortgage or trust deed.
Every person licensed as an auctioneer may designate not to exceed two employees who may be authorized by him to conduct auctions. The employer shall be liable for any violation of the town ordinances committed by such employee in conducting an auction.