[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Village
of Monticello 1-5-1976 (Ch. 130
of the 1976 Code). Amendments noted where applicable.]
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
Any person loaning money on deposit or pledge of personal
property, other than securities or printed evidences of indebtedness,
dealing in the purchase of personal property on condition of selling
back at a stipulated price or designated or doing business as furniture
storage warehousemen, and loaning and advancing money upon goods,
wares or merchandise pledged or deposited as collateral security;
a pawnbroker.
[Amended 6-21-1999 by L.L. No. 5-1999]
One or more persons of either sex, natural persons, corporation,
partnership, associations, joint-stock companies and all other entities
capable of being sued.
No person, either as principal, agent or employee, shall, within
the limits of the Village of Monticello, establish, engage in or carry
on the business of collateral loan broker, either separately or in
connection with some other business, without first having obtained
and paid for and having in full force and effect a license as herein
provided.
A.
Every person desiring to procure a license as herein provided shall
file with the Village Clerk a written application upon a blank form
prepared and furnished by the Village. Such application shall contain
the names and residences of the applicant if an individual, partnership
or firm, or the names and residences of the principal officers if
the applicant is an association or corporation. Such application shall
also describe in detail the character of the business in which he,
they or it desires to engage. The application shall also state the
following:
(1)
The length of time such applicant or applicants, if an individual,
firm or partnership, or the manager or person in charge, if the applicant
is a firm, partnership, corporation or association, has or have resided
in the State of New York; his or their places of previous residences
and employment; whether married or single; whether he or they or any
of them have ever been convicted of a felony or misdemeanor and, if
so, what offense, when and in what court.
(2)
The premises where such business is to be located or carried on,
giving street and number.
(3)
Whether the applicant or applicants or manager have, either alone
or with someone else, ever engaged in the business of collateral loan
broker.
B.
Such application shall be signed and acknowledged before a notary
public.
Such application shall be accompanied by a bond to the Village of Monticello, approved as to form by the Village Attorney, in the penal sum of $10,000, with two responsible sureties or sufficient collateral security, conditioned for the faithful performance of the duties and obligations pertaining to the business so licensed, the due observance during the term of the license of any and all ordinances and laws which are now in force or may hereafter be adopted or enacted respecting the business of collateral loan broker as defined in § 128-1, and the accounting for and paying over of all moneys which the licensee shall be liable to pay as such collateral loan broker to the Village of Monticello or any person.
When an application is filed, the Village Clerk shall cause
an investigation to be made by the Police Department to ascertain
whether the applicant or applicants is or are of good character and
repute. The Chief of Police shall furnish to the Board of Trustees,
in writing, the information derived from such investigation, accompanied
by a recommendation as to whether a license should be granted or refused.
A.
Upon the filing of the application, bond and information as provided in the previous sections, the Board of Trustees may, upon its approval of such application and bond as to the sufficiency of the sureties or collateral securities, and upon the payment to the Village of the license fee hereinafter provided, direct the Village Clerk to issue to the applicant a license to engage in the business as provided in § 128-2. No license shall be refused except for a specific reason and for the protection of the public safety, good order and morals.
B.
All licenses shall be numbered in the order in which they are issued
and shall state clearly the location of the place of business in which
the person receiving such license shall be authorized to establish,
engage in and carry on the business, the kind of business, the dates
of issuance and expiration of the license, the fees paid and the name
and address of the licensee.
C.
No applicant to whom a license has been refused shall make further
application until a period of at least six months shall have elapsed
since the last previous rejection, unless he can show that the reason
for such rejection no longer exists.
A.
Every collateral loan broker, as defined in § 128-1, shall pay an annual license fee as shall be established from time to time by resolution of the Board of Trustees.[1] All renewal licenses shall be issued as of January 1 and
shall continue in force until December 31 next succeeding the issuance
thereof, unless sooner revoked by the Board of Trustees. New licenses
shall be issued as of the date of approval by the Board of Trustees,
to be effective until the next succeeding December 31, and the annual
fee shall be paid to cover the period of the license.
B.
No license shall be used by any person other than the original licensee,
and any holder of such license who permits it to be used by any other
person, and any person who uses such license granted to any other
person, shall be guilty of a violation of this chapter.
C.
Whenever a license shall be lost or destroyed without fault on the
part of the holder or his agent or employee, a duplicate license in
lieu thereof under the original application and bond may be issued
by the Board of Trustees at its discretion, upon the filing with it
of an affidavit by the licensee, setting forth the circumstances of
the loss and what, if any, search has been made for its recovery.
No person shall destroy, deface or injure a license in any manner,
or change the name, number or dates therein.
The Board of Trustees may, at any time, after investigation
and after a hearing before the Board of Trustees at which the licensee
may be heard, for such cause as it shall deem sufficient, for violation
of this chapter or for any other proper cause, revoke any license
granted under the provisions of this chapter. Whenever any license
shall be revoked, no refund of any unearned portion thereof shall
be made, and no license shall be granted to any person whose license
has been revoked within a period of one year from the date of such
revocation. Notice of such revocation and the reason or reasons therefor
in writing shall be served by the Board of Trustees upon the person
named in the application by personal service or by mailing the same
to the address given in the application and upon filing a copy of
such with the Village Clerk.
If any licensee shall move his place of business from the place
designated in the license, he shall immediately give notice to the
Village Clerk and have the same endorsed on the license.
No collateral loan broker shall accept any pledge until the
person pawning such pledge shall have adequately proved his identity
or shall have adequately proved ownership of the article pawned. Every
licensed collateral loan broker shall keep, in a substantially bound
book which shall be legibly written in ink and in English, at the
time of making a loan, an account and description of the goods, articles
or things pawned or pledged, including the number or numbers and any
monogram, inscription or other marks of identification that may appear
thereon, the amount loaned thereon, the time and day of the loan and
its maturity, the rate of interest paid on such loan and the name,
general description and residence of the person pawning or pledging
such goods, articles or things and a record of the means of identification
of the pledger or of the proof of ownership by the pledger. Such book
and all articles pawned or pledged shall at all reasonable times be
open to inspection by any police officer, the Village Manager, any
magistrate of the Village or any person duly authorized, in writing,
for such purpose by the Board of Trustees, Chief of Police or any
magistrate, who shall exhibit such written authority to the collateral
loan broker and to all persons authorized by § 45 of the
General Business Law of the State of New York. No entry in such book
shall be erased, obliterated, altered or defaced.
Every collateral loan broker shall, at such times as the Police Chief or Acting Police Chief may prescribe in a written notice to be served upon such collateral loan broker by a member of the Police Department, report to the Police Department, on blank forms to be furnished by the Police Department, a description of all goods, articles or things, or the identity or proof of ownership of pledgers, such as is required to be kept under § 128-10, which have been pawned or pledged in the course of business of the collateral loan broker during the days specified in such notice and, if such notice from the Chief of Police or person performing such functions so prescribes, such collateral loan broker shall, at that time and until he is so notified to discontinue so doing, keep and furnish on such blank forms such information, as well as a general description of every person depositing such pledge.
Every licensed collateral loan broker shall, at the time of
each loan, deliver to the person pawning or pledging any goods, articles
or things a memorandum or note signed by him containing his address
and the substance of the entry required to be made or received by
any collateral loan broker for any such entry, memorandum or note.
The holder of such memorandum or note shall be presumed to be the
person entitled to redeem the pledge, and the collateral loan broker
shall deliver such article to the person so presenting such memorandum
or note upon payment of principal and interest; should such memorandum
or note be lost or mislaid, the pawner shall at once apply to the
collateral loan broker, in which case it shall be the duty of the
collateral loan broker to permit such person to examine his books,
and upon finding the entry for such memorandum or note so lost and
upon giving to the collateral loan broker an exact description of
the article pawned, the collateral loan broker shall issue a second
or stop ticket for the same. In case such pawner neglects to so apply
and examine such books and receive such memorandum or note in the
manner above stated, the collateral loan broker shall be bound to
deliver the pledge to any person producing such memorandum or note
for redemption thereof. This section is not to be construed as in
any manner limiting or affecting such collateral loan broker's
common-law liability in cases where goods are stolen or other legal
defects of title exist in the pledge.
A.
No collateral loan broker shall ask, demand or receive any greater
rate of interest than 4% per month, or any fraction of a month, and
a notice containing a list of such rates of interest as herein provided
and in accordance with the Act of Congress entitled "Truth in Lending
Act"[1] and the regulations thereunder, as such Act and regulations
may from time to time be amended, shall be conspicuously displayed
within the premises of such collateral loan broker. A minimum interest
charge of $0.25 per month may be made on any loan.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. I)]
[1]
Editor's Note: See 15 U.S.C. § 1601 et seq.
B.
No collateral loan broker shall receive or be entitled to any interest
or charges as provided by this chapter on any loan for any period
of time exceeding 15 months from the date of the making of such loan;
provided, however, that where a loan is extended at the direct request
of the pledger, the collateral loan broker may receive and be entitled
to any interest or charges provided by this chapter on such loan for
any period of time not to exceed 15 months from the date of such extension.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. I)]
C.
No such collateral loan broker shall make any charge for packing,
storing, keeping or caring for any article, goods or thing pledged
or upon which a loan has been made.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. I)]
Notice of every such public sale shall be published for at least
six days previous thereto in at least two newspapers printed in the
Village of Monticello, and such notice shall specify the time and
place at which such public sale is to take place and a description
of the goods or articles to be sold. Every collateral loan broker
shall enter in a book kept for that purpose a true account of the
sale of all goods sold by him at auction or otherwise, stating the
day of the month when pledged, the name of the person pledging, the
day when and the amount for which each pledge was sold and the name
of the auctioneer. Any person who shall have pledged any unredeemed
goods, or his assigns, administrators and executors, shall at all
reasonable times be permitted to inspect such entry book of sale.
Every collateral loan broker shall give notice of the expiration of
the six months from the date of the loan after which a public sale
of the article pledged may take place, by letter directed to the borrower
at his last-known residence at least 10 days and not more than 20
days after the expiration of such six months.
A.
The surplus money, if any, arising from any such sale, after deducting
the amount of the loan, the interest then due on the same and the
expense of advertising and sale shall be paid over by the collateral
loan broker to the person who would be entitled to redeem the pledge
in case no such sale had taken place, provided that demand therefor
is made within one year after such sale shall have taken place.
B.
In the event that there is any surplus money due to a pledger after
such sale, the collateral loan broker shall give the pledger written
notice thereof by mailing to such pledger, directed to him at the
address given at the time of pledging or in the event such pledger
has notified the collateral loan broker, in writing, of a change of
address, to such new address, within 30 days after such sale, a notice
which shall state the name and address of the collateral loan broker,
the number of the pledge, the date of sale and the amount of any surplus.
[Added 6-21-1999 by L.L.
No. 5-1999]
Every licensee shall cause to be posted in a conspicuous part
of his office or place where the collateral loan broking business
is carried on, so as to be visible to all persons pledging goods,
a printed card or table of the rates of interest authorized by this
chapter, printed in large type and in the English language.
No collateral loan broker shall:
A.
Permit the redemption of any article received by him in pawn until
48 hours after the same has been received by him in pawn.
B.
Fail to deliver to the borrower a plain and complete receipt for
all payments on account at the time such payments are made.
C.
Carry on business at any other place than the one designated in his
license.
D.
Continue to carry on business after his license is revoked or shall
have expired.
No license issued hereunder shall be assigned, sold or transferred.
[Amended 6-21-1999 by L.L. No. 5-1999; at time of adoption of Code (see
Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
Unless otherwise provided by General Business Law, Chapter 20
of the Consolidated Laws, Article 5:
A.
Any person who, himself or by his Clerk, agent or employee, shall establish, engage in or carry on the business of collateral loan broker or shall violate any of the provisions of this chapter, or who, having had his license revoked, shall continue to engage in or carry on the business of collateral loan broker, shall, upon conviction thereof, be guilty of a violation, punishable as provided in Article III, General Penalty, of Chapter 1 of the Code of the Village of Monticello.
B.
In addition to the penalty imposed, the license of the person violating
the same shall be canceled or revoked and the bond upon such license
shall be forfeited. Upon such forfeiture the amount of the bond shall
thereupon become due and payable to the Village of Monticello, and
the amount thereof may be recovered in a civil action based upon such
forfeiture.
In the event of any inconsistency between the provisions of
this chapter and the applicable provisions of the General Business
Law of the State of New York, the provisions of the General Business
Law shall be applicable.
