[Code 1961 §10-8; CC 1976 §14-21]
Any person who shall engage in the business of buying and selling
of any goods, wares or merchandise at any store, stand or place occupied
for that purpose within the City is hereby declared to be a "merchant" for the purposes of this Article, except as may
be otherwise provided.
[Code 1961 § 10-9; CC 1976 §14-22]
Before any merchant may engage in business, such merchant shall
obtain approval and procure a license and shall pay the license tax
as provided by the provisions of this Article. If any such merchant
should sell or offer for sale any goods, wares or merchandise without
first complying with the provisions of this Article or should otherwise
violate or fail to comply with any of the provisions of this Article,
such merchant shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. Each day shall constitute
a separate offense.
[Code 1961 §10-10; CC 1976 §14-23]
No license issued under the provisions of this Article shall
be assignable or transferable.
[Code 1961 §10-11; CC 1976 §14-24; Ord. No. 94-83 §1, 12-13-1994]
It shall be the duty of every person engaged in the business
of a merchant within the City, by August first (1st), of each year,
to make application to the City Clerk for a license hereunder on forms
furnished by the City Clerk, such license to be for the calendar year,
or portion of the calendar year, in which said license is issued.
It shall be the duty of said person so engaged in the business of
a merchant to furnish to the City Clerk a sworn declaration, in writing,
on said form provided showing the estimated aggregate amount of all
gross receipts and sales which will be made by him/her during the
then calendar year, except that any person who engages in the City
in the business of a merchant for the first (1st) time hereafter shall
then file the sworn declaration therein provided with respect to the
remaining portion of his/her initial calendar year of operation. At
the time of filing such sworn declaration, such person shall pay to
the City Clerk the amount of license tax due on the basis of such
declaration. Within thirty (30) days after the end of such calendar
year, each person subject to the provisions of this Article shall
file a corrected return, showing the exact amount of such gross receipts
and sales, such person shall be credited with, and there shall be
applied on the following year's license tax due, under the provisions
hereof, or at his/her option there shall be refunded to said person
in cash, the amount of any overpayment. It is hereby provided however,
that the amount of deposit payment to be made by any person subject
to this Article, at the time of filing the aforementioned declaration
containing estimates of the aggregate amount of all gross receipts
and sales, shall not be less than fifty dollars ($50.00).
[Code 1961 §10-12; CC 1976 §14-25; Ord. No. 917 §1, 6-14-1965; Ord. No. 2299 §1, 9-29-1986]
A.
A merchant's license is hereby levied upon each merchant as defined in Section 605.110, and upon each separate place of business of such merchant; said license tax shall be computed on the amount of gross sales in the City during the preceding calendar year as follows:
1.
On the first (1st) fifty thousand dollars ($50,000.00), or fraction
thereof, the sum of fifty dollars ($50.00), which sum shall be the
minimum tax hereunder.
[Code 1961 §10-14; CC 1976 §14-27]
The license forms shall be kept pursuant to the Records Management
Policy of the City and shall provide suitable space in which shall
be entered the sworn statement and affidavit of the merchant as required
by this Article, and there shall also be entered at an appropriate
place upon said stubs the amount of merchant's license tax collected
by the City Clerk, which said stub shall be preserved by the Clerk
as a permanent record and shall be exhibited for inspection by the
Mayor, City Clerk or members of the City Council whenever required
by them.
[Code 1961 § 10-15; CC 1976 §14-28]
In the event any merchant licensed to do business under the
provisions of this Article shall move his/her place of business from
one (1) location to another, he/she shall submit a statement of the
fact of such change to the City Clerk, who may transfer such license
as to location but shall not transfer such license from one (1) merchant
to another.
[Code 1961 §10-16; CC 1976 §14-29]
It shall be the duty of each merchant to keep a proper book
record, in which he/she shall enter in ink a record of gross amount
of sales of goods, wares and merchandise made by such merchant, which
said account and record shall during business hours be open to the
inspection of the City Clerk for the purpose of enabling the Clerk
to verify the statements of such merchant as herein required.
[Code 1961 §10-16; CC 1976 §14-30]
The statements and affidavits to be made by merchants as herein required and such information as said Clerk may obtain by examination of the merchant's records as described in Section 605.190 shall not be made public and shall not be subject to the inspection of any person except the Mayor, City Clerk and members of the City Council, except in the event such information is required by the City Attorney in the prosecution of any charge for the violation of this Article.
[Code 1961 §10-17; CC 1976 §14-31]
In the event any merchant shall fail or refuse to deliver the
statements herein required to the City Clerk and to pay the merchant's
license tax levied by this Article on or before the first (1st) day
of August of each year and in the event such merchant shall continue
after said first (1st) day of August to operate his/her said business
and to sell goods, wares and merchandise in the City, such merchant
shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. Each day of sales of goods, wares
and merchandise hereunder in violation of the provisions of this Article
shall constitute a separate offense. The City Clerk shall report all
violations of this Article from time to time to the City Council and
to the City Attorney.
[Code 1961 §10-17a; CC 1976 §14-32; Ord. No. 1020 §1, 8-14-1967]
The City Clerk shall furnish to each merchant obtaining a license,
under the provisions of this Article, a license decal, and the merchant
shall place and keep the license decal in a conspicuous place on the
front of the business premises, so that it may be readily seen from
the outside by any officer of the City.
[Code 1961 §10-18; CC 1976 §14-33]
This Article and the merchant's license issued hereunder shall
not be construed to authorize any merchants to operate a dram shop
or to sell intoxicating liquors, and the statements of merchants required
by this Article shall not include intoxicating liquors as the same
is described by other ordinances of the City.
[Code 1961 §10-18a; CC 1976 §14-34; Ord. No. 756 §1, 12-11-1961]
In addition to any other penalties, any person who is required
to take out a license, or any person whose license has expired under
the provisions of this Article, and notice has been given by the Clerk,
shall if not paid within thirty (30) days after expiration of the
license, pay a penalty of twenty dollars ($20.00), and for every ten
(10) days thereafter twenty dollars ($20.00) shall be added as a penalty
until the party required to take out such license shall have complied
with the provisions regulating licenses in this Article. This penalty
shall be collected with the license by the Clerk and paid into the
City Treasury.
[CC 1976 §14-35; Ord. No. 92-44 §1, 9-14-1992; Ord. No. 95-84 §1, 11-14-1995]
A.
Used
automobile sales shall be permitted only under the following conditions
and circumstances:
1.
By a regularly franchised automobile dealer located in the City which
is simultaneously selling new automobiles; or,
2.
By a regularly franchised auto leasing company located in the City
which is simultaneously leasing automobiles and meets all of the following
requirements:
a.
The used automobiles to be sold may not be more than five (5) years
old; and
b.
The business selling the used automobiles must have annual gross
receipts of at least three million dollars ($3,000,000.00); and
c.
The business selling the used automobiles must be housed in or operating
from a building with no less than twenty thousand (20,000) square
feet of space.
