[Adopted 4-30-1956 by Ord. No. 855]
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
CITY CLERK[1]
The City Clerk of Royal Oak, or his or her authorized delegate.
PERSON
Any individual, firm, copartnership, corporation, company, association or joint-stock association, church, religious sect, religious denomination, society, organization or league, and includes any trustee, receiver, assignee, agent or other similar representative thereof.
SOLICIT and SOLICITATION
The request of money, credit, property, financial assistance or other thing of value on the plea or representation that such money, credit, property, financial assistance or other thing of value, or any part thereof, will be used for a charitable, religious, patriotic, civic, educational or philanthropic purpose, by telephone, personal interview, or otherwise. The said words shall also mean and include the sale or offer to sell any article, tag, ticket, emblem, publication, advertisement, subscription or other thing, whether of value or not, on the plea or representation that such money, credit, property, financial assistance or other thing of value, or any part thereof, whether received by the solicitor or purchased by the buyer, will be used for a charitable, religious, patriotic, civic, educational or philanthropic purpose.
[1]
Editor's Note: The words "City Manager" were changed to "City Clerk" at the request of the City pursuant to Ord. No. 92-7, adopted 5-4-1992.
No person shall solicit for any cause whatsoever, except as herein otherwise provided, within the City of Royal Oak, without a permit from the City authorizing such solicitation; provided, however, that the provisions of this article shall not apply to solicitations conducted exclusively within the membership of an organization by its own officers and members.
Applications for permits under this article shall be filed with the City Clerk upon forms to be furnished by the City Clerk. The application shall contain the following information or, in lieu thereof, a detailed statement of the reason why such information cannot be furnished:
A. 
Name, address, telephone number and headquarters of the person applying for the permit.
B. 
If the applicant is not an individual, the names and addresses of the applicant's principal officers and managers.
C. 
The purposes for which such solicitation is to be made and the use or disposition to be made of any receipts therefrom; or property purchased if the same is to be distributed by the solicitor.
D. 
The name of the person or persons by whom the receipts of such solicitation shall be disbursed.
E. 
The names and addresses of the person or persons who will be in direct charge of conducting the solicitation.
F. 
An outline of the method or methods to be used in conducting the solicitation.
G. 
The time when such solicitations shall be made, giving the proposed dates for the beginning and ending of such solicitations.
H. 
The amount of any wages, fees, commissions, expenses or emoluments to be expended or paid to any persons in connection with such solicitation, together with the manner in which such wages, fees, expenses, commissions, or emoluments are to be expended, to whom paid and the amount thereof.
I. 
The estimated cost of the solicitation.
J. 
Such other information as may be required by the City Clerk for him or her to determine the kind and character of the proposed solicitation and whether such solicitation is in the interest of, and not inimical to, the public welfare.
It shall be a violation of this article for any person, knowingly, to file or cause to be filed an application containing one or more false statements.
The City Clerk shall authorize the permit provided for in § 526-6 hereof whenever he or she shall find the following facts to exist:
A. 
That the applicant is a person or organization which is, as a matter of fact, engaged in charitable, patriotic, civic, educational, philanthropic or religious activity, or engaged in raising funds for distribution to such persons or organizations.
B. 
That the net proceeds derived from the solicitations authorized under the permit shall be used exclusively for charitable, civic, educational, patriotic, philanthropic or religious purposes.
C. 
That none of the proceeds derived from the solicitations authorized by the permit will be divided in any manner with persons who actually make the solicitations.
D. 
That the proceeds of the solicitations authorized by the permit will not be divided or in any manner shared, either directly or indirectly, with any person or organization other than the applicant for the permit, or the person or organization for whose benefit the solicitation is made.
E. 
That expenses incidental to the solicitation shall not exceed 30% of the gross proceeds, assuring the donor that at least 70% of the donation shall be used for the charitable, civic, educational, patriotic, philanthropic or religious activity named; provided, however, that where the solicitation is incidental to the sale of something claimed to be of value, the City Clerk may, in his or her discretion, authorize a departure from the above ratio.
[Amended 1-7-1963 by Ord. No. 63-1]
Permits issued under this article shall bear the name and address of the person by whom the solicitation is to be made, the date of issuance, the dates within which the permit holder may solicit, and a statement that the permit does not constitute an endorsement by the City of the purpose or of the person conducting the solicitation. The dates within which the permit holder may solicit shall be determined by the City Clerk, but no permit shall grant the right to solicit for a longer period than one year from its date of issuance. In determining the dates of solicitation, the City Clerk shall, whenever possible, honor the dates of solicitation proposed by the applicant and shall only alter such dates when the dates proposed by the applicant would conflict with other solicitations previously authorized and where simultaneous solicitations by two or more groups would tend to be confusing to the public.
At the time when application is made for a permit, there shall be paid to the City Treasurer the sum of $2 to cover the cost of an investigation into the qualifications of the applicant as above provided. There shall be no further charge for the permit, but the sum of $0.10 shall be paid for each facsimile copy of the permit that is desired.
Any permit approved and issued under this article shall be nontransferable; provided, however, that this shall not prevent any permittee from using any number of solicitors and representatives and, provided further, that the City Clerk may, at his or her discretion, require that each solicitor and representative shall carry a facsimile copy of such permit while engaged in solicitation. All permits and facsimile copies shall be returned to the City Clerk within two days of the date of expiration.
No person shall represent that the granting of a permit hereunder is an endorsement by the City of Royal Oak of the particular organization involved, and any such representation is hereby declared to be a misrepresentation of fact and subject to the provisions for revocation of the permit as herein provided.
If, upon receipt of written information or upon his or her own investigation, the City Clerk has reason to believe that any officer, agent or representative of a permittee is misrepresenting facts or making untrue statements, or has misrepresented facts or made untrue statements either with words or by implication, with regard to solicitations or the purposes thereof, or has made untrue statements in the application, or that in any other way the solicitations have been conducted, or are being conducted, in violation of any part of this article and not in conformity with the intent and purpose of this article, then the City Clerk shall immediately suspend such permit; provided, however, that before any permit is revoked, the City Clerk shall cause to be mailed to the permit holder a notice that a hearing is to be had before the City Commission, and such notice shall be mailed or served upon the permittee personally, at least 24 hours before said hearing, and at such hearing the facts shall be ascertained and reported to the City Commission at its next meeting, and if it shall find any of the reasons above set forth for revoking the permit exist, the permit shall be revoked.
Any person violating any of the provisions of this article, or filing, or causing to be filed, an application for a permit or certificate under this article containing false or fraudulent misstatements, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than $100 and costs, or shall be imprisoned for not more than 90 days, or may be punished by both such fine and imprisonment, in the discretion of the court.