It shall be unlawful for any transient merchant to engage in
direct sales within the Village of East Troy without being registered
for that purpose as provided herein.
In this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings
indicated:
CHARITABLE ORGANIZATION
Includes any benevolent, philanthropic, religious, patriotic
or eleemosynary person, partnership, association or corporation, or
one purporting to be such, including for example the Boy Scouts, Girl
Scouts, 4-H Clubs and school organizations.
MERCHANDISE
Includes personal property of any kind, and shall include
merchandise, goods or materials provided incidental to services offered
or sold. The sale of merchandise includes donations required by the
seller for the retention of merchandise by a donor or prospective
customer.
PERMANENT MERCHANT
Any person who, for at least one year prior to the consideration
of the application of this chapter to said merchant:
A.
Has continuously operated an established place of business in
the Village; or
B.
Has continuously resided in the Village and now does business
from his/her residence.
PERSON
All humans of any age or sex, partnerships, corporations,
associations, groups, organizations and any other description of a
collection of human beings working in concert or for the same purpose
or objective.
TRANSIENT MERCHANT
Any individual who engages in the retail sale of merchandise
at any place in this state temporarily and who does not intend to
become and does not become a permanent merchant of such place. The
term shall include, but not be limited to, peddlers, solicitors and
transient merchants. The sale of goods includes donations required
by the transient merchant for the retention of goods by a donor or
prospective customer. For purposes of this chapter, sale of merchandise
includes a sale in which the personal services rendered upon or in
connection with the merchandise constitute the greatest part of value
for the price received but does not include a farm auction sale conducted
by or for a resident farmer of personal property used on the farm
or the sale of produce or other perishable products at retail or wholesale
by a resident of this state.
The following shall be exempt from all provisions of this chapter:
A. Any person delivering products to regular customers on established
routes.
[Amended 6-15-2015 by Ord. No. 2015-02]
B. Any person selling merchandise at wholesale to dealers in such merchandise.
C. Any person selling Wisconsin agricultural products which the person
has grown.
D. Any permanent merchant or employee thereof who takes orders at the
home of the buyer for merchandise regularly offered for sale by such
merchant within this county and who delivers such merchandise in his/her
regular course of business.
E. Any person who has an established place of business where the merchandise
being sold is offered for sale on a regular basis and in which the
buyer has initiated contact with and specifically requested a home
visit by said person.
F. Any person who has had, or one who represents a company which has
had, a prior business transaction, such as a prior sale or credit
arrangement, with the prospective customer.
G. Any person selling or offering for sale a service unconnected with
the sale or offering for sale of merchandise.
H. Any person holding a sale required by statute or by order of any
court and any person conducting a bona fide auction sale pursuant
to law.
I. Any employee, officer or agent of a charitable organization who engages
in direct sales for, or on behalf of, said organization, provided
that there is submitted to the Village Clerk proof that such
charitable organization is registered under § 202.12, Wis.
Stats. Any charitable organization engaging in the sale of merchandise
and not registered under § 202.12, Wis. Stats., or which
is exempt from that statute's registration requirements, shall be
required to register under this chapter.
[Amended 12-16-2019 by Ord. No. 2019-18]
J. Any person who claims to be a permanent merchant but against whom
complaint has been made to the Village Clerk that such person
is a transient merchant, provided that there is submitted to the Village Clerk proof
that such person has leased for at least one year or purchased the
premises from which he/she is conducting business or proof that such
person has conducted such business in this Village for at least one
year prior to the date complaint was made.
[Amended 12-16-2019 by Ord. No. 2019-18]
K. Any individual licensed by an examining board as defined in § 15.01(7),
Wis. Stats.
L. Transient merchants while doing business at special events authorized
by the Village Board.
M. Minors under 18 years of age who are residents of the Village.
[Amended 6-15-2015 by Ord. No. 2015-02; 12-16-2019 by Ord. No. 2019-18]
A. Registration information. Applicants for registration must complete
and return to the Village Clerk a registration form furnished
by the Village Clerk which shall require the following information:
(1) Name, permanent address and telephone numbers, and temporary address,
if any.
(2) Height, weight, color of hair and eyes, and date of birth.
(3) Name, address and telephone number of the person, firm, association
or corporation that the transient merchant represents or is employed
by or whose merchandise is being sold.
(4) Temporary address and telephone number from which business will be
conducted, if any.
(5) Nature of business to be conducted and a brief description of the
merchandise offered and any services offered.
(6) Proposed method of delivery of merchandise, if applicable.
(7) Make, model and license number of any vehicle to be used by the applicant
in the conduct of his/her business.
(8) Last cities, villages and towns, not to exceed three, where the applicant
conducted similar business just prior to making this registration.
(9) Place where the applicant can be contacted for at least seven days
after leaving this Village.
(10)
Statement as to whether the applicant has been convicted of
any crime or ordinance violation related to the applicant's transient
merchant business within the last five years, the nature of the offense
and the place of conviction.
B. Identification and certification. Applicants shall present to the
Village Clerk for examination:
(1) A driver's license or some other proof of identity as may be
reasonably required.
(2) A state certificate of examination and approval from the Sealer of
Weights and Measures where the applicant's business requires
use of weighing and measuring devices approved by state authorities.
(3) A state health officer's certificate where the applicant's
business involves the handling of food or clothing and is required
to be certified under state law, such certificate to state that the
applicant is apparently free from any contagious or infectious disease,
dated not more than 90 days prior to the date the application for
permit is made.
C. Registration fee.
(1) At the time of filing applications, a filing fee set by the Village
Board shall be paid to the Village Clerk to cover the cost
of investigation of the facts stated in the applications and for processing
said registration. Every member of the group must file a separate
registration form.
(2) The applicant shall sign a statement appointing the Village Clerk his/her
agent to accept service of process in any civil action brought against
the applicant arising out of any sale or service performed by the
applicant in connection with the direct sales activities of the applicant,
in the event the applicant cannot, after reasonable effort, be served
personally.
(3) Every applicant shall pay a registration fee per day as set by the
Village Board; provided, however, that applicants who sell food products
may register with the Village Clerk for a period of one
calendar year and pay a registration fee per year set by the Village
Board. The registration shall expire on June 30 of each year, and
the applicant shall be required to reapply, pay the filing/investigative
fee and pay the annual registration fee.
(4) Upon payment of said fees and signing of the statement, the Village Clerk shall
register the applicant as a transient merchant and date the entry.
Said registration shall be valid for a period of 30 days from the
date of entry, subject to subsequent refusal as provided in § 440-5B below.
At the end of any thirty-day-period, the applicant may request a new
permit which, upon payment of the appropriate fees and upon proof
satisfactory to the Village that the applicant has complied with the
provisions of this chapter, may be issued for an additional thirty-day-period.
[Amended 12-16-2019 by Ord. No. 2019-18]
A. Upon receipt of each application, the Village Clerk shall refer
it immediately to the Police Department for an investigation of the
statements made in such registration, said investigation to be completed
within five days from the time of referral.
B. The Village Clerk shall refuse to register the applicant
and issue a permit if it is determined, pursuant to the investigation
above, that the application contains any material omission or materially
inaccurate statement; complaints of a material nature have been received
against the applicant by authorities in the last cities, villages
and towns, not exceeding three, in which the applicant conducted similar
business; the applicant was convicted of a crime, statutory violation
or ordinance violation within the last five years, the nature of which
is directly related to the applicant's fitness to engage in direct
selling; or the applicant failed to comply with any applicable provision
of § 440-4B above.
Any person denied registration may appeal the denial through
the appeal procedure provided by ordinance or resolution of the Village
Board or, if none has been adopted, under the provisions of §§ 68.07
through 68.16, Wis. Stats.
[Amended 12-16-2019 by Ord. No. 2019-18]
The Police Department shall report to the Village Clerk all
convictions for violations of this chapter, and the Village Clerk
shall note any such violation on the record of the registrant convicted.