[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 §10-11; 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.
2. 
In excess of fifty thousand dollars ($50,000.00) the sum of one dollar ($1.00) for each one thousand dollars ($1,000.00) or fraction thereof, in addition to the amount provided in Subsection (1).
[1]
Editor's Note — As part of the editorial/legal review and conference of September, 2001, section 605.160 has been removed and left reserved for the future use of the city. Former section 605.160 derived from Code 1961 §10-13; CC 1976 §14-26.
[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.
[1]
Editor's Note — As part of the editorial/legal review and conference of September, 2001, section 605.260 has been removed and left reserved for the future use of the city. Former section 605.260 derived from CC 1976 §14-36; ord. no. 93-42 §1, 9-8-93.