[HISTORY: Adopted by the City Council of the City of Springfield 3-19-1986 (Title 5,
Ch. 5.20, of the 1986 Code). Amendments noted where applicable.]
No person shall act as an auctioneer or sell at auction any chattels, livestock, merchandise, real or personal property, or commodities of any form or type which may be lawfully kept or offered for sale unless he has been licensed therefor by the Commonwealth and has applied for and received a special permit or annual permit from the Chief of Police pursuant to the provisions of Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 100. No person shall be eligible for an annual permit unless he maintains a regular place of business for the conduct of auctioneering in the City. Annual permits shall expire one year from the date of their issuance or upon the expiration of an auctioneer's state license.
The permit requirement provisions of § 115-1 shall not apply to auctions held or conducted by an order or judgment of any court of the commonwealth or of the United States or by any officer of a municipality, county or state of the United States; sales held by sheriffs, deputy sheriffs, constables, collectors of taxes, executors, administrators, lien holders, assignees for the benefit of creditors; sales held by any other person specifically authorized by law to sell real, personal or mixed property; casual and isolated sales by an owner of his own goods; and any auction held or conducted by any resident member of a charitable, educational, religious or other nonprofit organization within the commonwealth on behalf of said organization.
Applications shall be filed with the Chief of Police on a form
to be supplied and shall contain the name of the applicant, the name,
address and license number of the auctioneer, the hours between which
the auction is to be conducted, the location of the auction, and a
general description of the goods to be auctioned. As to a special
permit, the estimated value of the goods and the date or dates, not
to exceed 10, on which the auction shall be held shall also be included.
Any permit approved by the Chief of Police may be subject to stated
reasonable terms and conditions relating to public safety as he may
designate. Applications for permits may be denied on stated grounds,
which must be reasonable grounds relating to public safety.
The fee for an auctioneer's annual permit shall be $50.
The fee for an auctioneer's special permit shall be $35. Said
fees shall be paid to the City Treasurer's office upon issuance
of a permit by the Chief of Police. No permit shall be valid until
approved as paid in full by the Collector's/Treasurer's office.
