[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and City Council
of the City of Monroe 3-25-1996 by Ord. No. 96-001.[1] Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
General penalty — See § 1-27.
Hawkers, peddlers and transient merchants — See
Ch. 374.
STATUTORY REFERENCES
Charitable Organizations and Solicitation Act — See
MCLA § 400.271 et seq.
Transient merchants — See MCLA
§ 445.371 et seq.
[1]
Editor's Note: This chapter, previously a
codification of Ord. No. 79-002, adopted 1-22-1979, as amended by
Ord. No. 81-013, adopted 9-21-1981, was reenacted in its entirety
by Ord. No. 96-001.
This chapter may be known, identified and cited
as the "Charitable Solicitation Ordinance."
It is the purpose of this chapter to promote
the general welfare; to protect the public safety, peace, good order
and residential privacy of the residents and citizens of the City;
to promote disclosure of the finances of foreign charitable organizations;
to prevent fraud; and to provide penalties for violations of this
chapter.
As used in this chapter, the following terms
shall have the meaning indicated:
Any purpose which is benevolent, civic, religious, educational,
philanthropic, humane, patriotic or eleemosynary.
Any individual, firm, partnership, corporation, company,
association, church, religious denomination, school, society, organization,
league, guild or fraternal organization, and any agent thereof.
Includes any request made in any public place or by door-to-door
canvassing by means of personal contact, distribution of handbills,
pamphlets, books, circulars, tickets, telephone and any other means,
except the United States mail.
Any oral or written request for contributions of money, personal
property or any other thing of value to be used for a charitable purpose.
A.
No person shall solicit for charitable contributions
within the City without having obtained a charitable solicitation
permit issued by the Clerk/Treasurer.
B.
No permit shall be required for, nor shall this chapter
be applicable to, solicitations conducted exclusively within the membership
of an organization by its own officers and members.
A.
All applications for charitable solicitation permits
must be filed with the office of the Clerk/Treasurer no later than
45 days prior to the start of the proposed solicitation period.
B.
All applications shall contain the following information:
(1)
The name, address, telephone number and business address
of the applicant or the applicant's principal officer.
(2)
The purpose for which the contributions are solicited
and the manner in which the contributions will be disbursed.
(3)
The name, address and telephone number of the person
who will disburse the receipts.
(4)
The names, addresses and telephone numbers of every
person who will be in charge of, or supervise, the solicitation.
(5)
A description of the method of solicitation.
(6)
The beginning and ending dates of the solicitation.
(7)
A financial statement of the charitable organization
for the year immediately preceding the date of the application.
(8)
Any other relevant, necessary or needed information,
as determined by the Clerk/Treasurer.
C.
The following entities are exempt from the requirements of Subsection B(2) and (7) hereof: fraternal organizations incorporated under the laws of this state, religious organizations, colleges, schools, universities, labor unions, municipalities, community organizations such as the Red Cross and United Way, and all other charitable institutions or agencies that are required to file reports with departments of the state government. These organizations are exempt from the requirements of Subsection B(2) and (7) hereof because their work has been long established in this community, the residents are already well informed of their activities, and there is no need to protect the residents from fraudulent solicitations.
D.
All charitable solicitation applications shall be
kept in the office of the Clerk/Treasurer and shall be available for
public inspection during normal business hours.
A.
No person shall knowingly file an application containing
false information.
B.
In addition to any penalty that may be imposed pursuant to § 1-27 of the Code of City of Monroe, any application approved in reliance upon false information contained therein shall be immediately revoked by the Clerk/Treasurer, and the applicant may be responsible for all costs incurred in the processing of said application.
A.
The Clerk/Treasurer shall issue a permit to an applicant who has fully complied with all the requirements of § 256-5 no later than 30 days after the submission of a properly completed application.
B.
A permit shall be signed by the Clerk/Treasurer and
shall contain the following information:
C.
Unless another time period is stated on the permit,
all permits shall expire on December 31 of the year in which the permit
was issued.
D.
Permits may be renewed in accordance with issuance
procedures prescribed in this chapter.
E.
Permits issued pursuant to this chapter are not transferable.
A.
The Clerk/Treasurer, for good cause shown, may refuse to issue a permit if the applicant fails and/or refuses to comply with the requirements of § 256-5.
B.
An applicant aggrieved by the refusal of the Clerk/Treasurer
to issue a permit may file a written appeal to the City Council for
the City Council's review and consideration. All appeals to City Council
must be in writing and filed no later than five days after the date
the permit is denied.
[Amended 7-6-2004 by Ord. No. 04-009]
The following regulations shall govern the conduct
of charitable solicitations within the City:
A.
A permit holder may use any number of solicitors.
Each and every solicitor shall wear an identification badge issued
by the office of the Clerk/Treasurer while engaged in the solicitation.
(1)
The office of the Clerk/Treasurer may charge a nominal
fee for the processing and issuance of each identification badge.
B.
Charitable solicitations shall only be conducted between
the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m., Monday through Saturday.
C.
In addition to the above specified hours and days, walk-a-thons, ride-a-thons or any other such similar activity, sponsored by, arranged by or conducted by any entity or organization described in § 256-5C, or charitable solicitations at any activity sponsored by, arranged by, conducted by or approved by any entity or organization described in § 256-5C shall be permitted on Sunday between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m.
D.
No solicitations shall be conducted on private property
posted against such solicitations or trespass.
E.
All solicitation periods shall be strictly limited
to the dates stated on the permit.
F.
Within 30 days after the end of the solicitation period,
the charitable organization shall return its permit and file a financial
statement of its collection with the office of the Clerk/Treasurer.
A.
Nothing contained in this chapter shall be construed
to prohibit, limit, restrict or constrain the City from developing
further regulations, rules, policies or procedures governing the application
and granting of charitable solicitation permits.
B.
Nothing contained in this chapter shall be construed
to prohibit, limit, restrict or constrain the City from developing
further regulations, rules, policies or procedures designed to govern,
limit, monitor and/or control the conduct and actions of individuals
engaged as charitable solicitors.
C.
All regulations, rules, policies or procedures governing
the application and granting of charitable solicitation permits, as
well as those regulations, rules, policies or procedures governing
the conduct and actions of charitable solicitors, shall be made known
and provided to all applicants for charitable solicitation permits
by the Clerk/Treasurer prior to the submission of their applications.
A.
Upon receiving allegations that a person has engaged
in any conduct, actions or activities that are prohibited as established
by ordinance, or by any regulation, rule, policy or procedure, the
Clerk/Treasurer or his or her designee shall immediately investigate
the allegations to determine whether or not they are accurate, valid
and trustworthy.
B.
Upon determining that the allegations are accurate,
valid and trustworthy, the Clerk/Treasurer or his or her designee
may take such action as is necessary to suspend and/or revoke the
permit.
C.
Prior to suspending and/or revoking any permit, the
office of the Clerk/Treasurer shall cause to be served upon the permit
holder such notice as to inform the permit holder that a hearing will
be conducted before the City Manager to determine if cause exists
for the revocation of the permit. The notice of hearing shall conform
to the following requirements:
(1)
Such notice shall be served upon the permit holder,
either personally or by certified mail, return receipt requested,
at least 24 hours before said hearing is to take place.
(2)
Such notice shall inform the permit holder of the
day, date, time and location of the hearing and shall also contain
a statement of the allegations against the permit holder.
(3)
Such notice shall also inform the permit holder that
failure to appear at the hearing shall cause the permit to be revoked
by default.
D.
At said hearing, the facts shall be ascertained and,
if the City Manager shall find by a preponderance of the evidence
that reasons for revoking the permit exist, the permit shall be revoked.
