The purpose of this chapter is to protect the residents of the Town of Pompey from the fraudulent and criminal practices of unscrupulous persons posing as hawkers, peddlers, or solicitors engaged in lawful business.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
CANVASSER One who requests or attempts to induce or persuade any person to support a particular charitable, educational, civic, patriotic, political, benevolent, religious or philanthropic project or cause, without the prior consent of such person, by personally interviewing or attempting to personally interview such person in a public place or at his or her personal residence.
ESTABLISHED BUSINESS A person, firm or corporation which carries on its business from a property or a structure located in the Town of Pompey, either owned or leased for a period greater than six weeks by said person, firm or corporation.
HAWKER or PEDDLER One who sells tangible commodities from house to house, or on the street, or in any public place, whose sales are not made from one established location which is privately owned or rented, and who makes delivery at the time of sale. Whether or not the purchase price is collected at the same time is immaterial for the purposes of this chapter.
LOCAL ORGANIZATION Any autonomous body of persons (whether incorporated or not) established and primarily operating within the Town of Pompey for any lawful noncommercial purpose or cause, including but not limited to any charitable, civic, benevolent, educational, religious, scientific, literary or cultural purpose or cause.
SOLICITOR One who takes orders for future deliveries or for intangible services or solicits subscriptions or invites, requests or attempts to induce or persuade any person to contribute any money or thing of value in public places or via door to door. This does not include or apply to one who solicits orders or funds from an established business, via telephone, or on their own private property.
The following are exempt from the provisions in this chapter:
A. Peddling of farm produce by farmers and persons who produce such goods or employees of said producer.
B. Delivery or sale of newspapers.
C. A local organization's legitimate fund-raising.
G. A charitable organization's legitimate fund-raising.
H. A school student's fund-raising.
J. Officers or employees of state or federal government, or any subdivisions thereof, who are acting pursuant to official government business.
K. Persons who will solicit solely for or on behalf of religious purposes and not for personal pecuniary benefit.
L. Any other exemption allowed by state or federal law.
It shall be the duty of the Town Clerk to keep a record of all applications, licenses granted, revocations, notice or revocation hearings and any other documents the Town Board may deem necessary.
Any person who shall act as a hawker, peddler or solicitor without a license or after his license was revoked shall be in violation of this chapter. Upon conviction of said violation, he shall be punished by a fine not to exceed $250 or by imprisonment for up to 15 days, or both. Each day on which such violation occurs or continues shall constitute a separate violation.