As used in this chapter, the following terms, phrases, words
and their derivations shall have the meanings ascribed herein. Words
used in the present tense shall include the future, words in the plural
number shall include the singular number, and words in the singular
number shall include the plural number. The word "shall" is always
mandatory and not merely directory.
ACCEPTABLE IDENTIFICATION
A current, valid New Jersey driver's license or identification
card, a current, valid photo driver's license issued by another
United States state, a valid United States passport, or other verifiable
United States government issued identification, which will be recorded
on the receipt retained by the dealer and subsequently forwarded to
the local department on request.
BOROUGH CLERK
The statutory officer of the Borough of Seaside Park whose
duties are defined in N.J.S.A. 40A:9-133.
DEALER
Any person, partnership, limited liability company, corporation,
association or other entity, whether permanent or itinerant, who,
either wholly or in part, engages in or operates any of the following
trades or businesses: the buying for purposes of resale of precious
metals, jewelry, or other secondhand goods as defined herein; pawnbrokers
as defined herein; itinerant businesses as defined herein. For the
purposes of this chapter, transient buyers, as defined herein, are
subject to the same licensing and reporting requirements as any other
dealers.
ITINERANT BUSINESS
A dealer who conducts business intermittently within the
Borough of Seaside Park or at varying locations.
PAWNBROKER
Any person, partnership, limited liability company, corporation,
association or other entity: lending money on deposit or pledge of
personal property, other than choses in action, securities, or printed
evidences of indebtedness; purchasing personal property on condition
of selling it back at a stipulated price; or doing business as furniture
storage warehousemen and lending money on goods, wares or merchandise
pledged or deposited as collateral security.
PRECIOUS METALS
Gold, silver, sterling, platinum and/or their alloys, as
defined in N.J.S.A. 51:5-1 et seq., N.J.S.A. 51:6-1 et seq. and/or
N.J.S.A. 51:6A-1 et seq.; gems, gemstones, coins and all forms of
jewelry herein contained.
PUBLIC
All individuals and retail sellers, not to include wholesale
transactions or transactions between other merchants.
REPORTABLE TRANSACTION
Every transaction conducted by a dealer in which precious
metals, or other tangible property, are purchased or exchanged from
or with the public.
SECONDHAND GOODS
A.
Any article previously sold, acquired, exchanged, conveyed,
traded or otherwise formerly owned, including but not limited to antiques,
gold, silver, platinum, or other precious metals, jewelry, coins,
gemstones, gift cards, any tools, telephones, typewriters, word processors,
GPS devices, computers, computer hardware and software, television
sets, radios, record or stereo sets, electronic devices, musical instruments,
sporting goods, automotive equipment, collectibles, game cartridges,
DVDs, CDs and other electronically recorded material, firearms, cameras
and camera equipment, video equipment, furniture, clothing and other
valuable articles.
B.
For the purpose of this chapter, secondhand goods shall not
include goods transacted in the following manner:
(1)
Judicial sales or sales by executors or administrators;
(2)
Occasional or auction sales of household goods sold from private
homes;
(4)
The occasional sale, purchase or exchange of coins or stamps
and who does not solicit the sale, purchase, or exchange of such coins
or stamps to or from the general public by billboard, sign, handbill,
newspaper, magazine, radio, television, or other form of printed or
electronic advertising.
TRANSIENT BUYER
A dealer, as defined herein, who has not been in any retail
business continuously for at least six months at any address in the
Borough of Seaside Park where the dealer is required to register or
who intends to close out or discontinue all retail business within
six months.
For every reportable transaction between a dealer and the public,
the dealer shall be required to do as follows:
A. Require of each person selling or pawning precious metals or other secondhand goods acceptable identification as defined in §
195-2;
B. Require each seller to execute a "declaration of ownership," which
shall contain the following certification: "My signature confirms
that I am the sole legal owner of and am legally authorized to sell
the goods being sold. By signing below I certify that I did not obtain
and do not possess the identified goods through unlawful means. I
am the full age of 18 years, and the identification presented is valid
and correct."
C. Record and issue to each person selling or pawning such goods on
a sequentially numbered receipt:
(1) The name, address and telephone number of the purchaser, including
the clerk or employee of the licensee making the purchase;
(2) The name, address, date of birth, and telephone number of the seller
or sellers;
(3) A photographed recording of the seller in a format acceptable by
the Chief of Police, along with a physical description of the seller,
including approximate height and weight, hair color, eye color, facial,
if any, and other identifiable characteristics;
(4) A photographed recording of the seller's presented acceptable identification, as set forth in §
195-2, in a format acceptable by the Chief of Police;
(5) A photographed recording of all items sold, in a format acceptable
by the Chief of Police. When photographing, all items must be positioned
in a manner that makes them readily and easily identifiable. Items
should not be grouped together when photographing or imaging. Each
item should have its own photograph;
(7) A detailed, legible description of the item(s) and the manufacturer
and model of the item(s), if known; in the case of jewelry, the descriptions
must include style, length, color, design, and stones, if any; any
identifying marks, including numbers, dates, sizes, shapes, initials,
names, monograms, social security numbers engraved thereon, serial
numbers, series numbers, or any other information which sets apart
the particular object from others of like kind;
(8) The price paid for the purchase or pawn of the item(s);
(9) If precious metals, the net weight in terms of pounds Troy, pennyweight
(Troy) or kilograms/grams; fineness in terms of karats for gold, and
sterling or coin for silver, in accordance with N.J.S.A. 51:5-1, N.J.S.A.
51:6-1 et seq.; and
(10)
The time and date of the transaction.
D. The information outlined in Subsection
C above must additionally be electronically documented through the use of an electronic database system as authorized by the Chief of Police. Installation and training in this software will be made mandatory as of the effective date of this chapter, and licensing will be conditional upon compliance with prior use of the system as described herein. These records shall be subject to the inspection of any authorized police officer or any law enforcement officer acting in the performance of his/her duty as set forth in Subsection
F below. Through the use of applicably required computer equipment, and using the electronic format approved by the Chief of Police, every dealer shall enter all reportable transactions into the electronic database by the end of the close of business on the same date as the purchase or receipt of property for pawn or consignment. The information entered must contain all pertinent information outlined in Subsection
C above.
E. In the event of a database failure, or dealer's computer equipment malfunction, all transaction information is required to be submitted on paper forms approved by the Chief of Police within 24 hours from the date of purchase. In the event that paper forms are used, the dealer is responsible to enter all transaction information set forth in Subsection
C above into the database as soon as possible upon the dealer's equipment being repaired or replaced or the database coming back into service. Failure by the dealer to properly maintain computer equipment in a reasonable fashion, or failure by the dealer to replace faulty computer equipment, may result in the dealer being cited for a violation of this chapter and subsequently being subject to violations and penalties set forth in §
195-11 and revocation of the dealer's license as set forth in §
195-5.
F. It shall be the requisite duty of every dealer, and of every person in the dealer's employ, to admit to the premises during business hours any member of the Borough of Seaside Park Police Department to examine any database, book, ledger, or any other record on the premises relating to the reportable transaction of precious metals or other secondhand goods, as well as the articles purchased or received, and, where necessary, to relinquish custody of those articles as provided in §
195-7. Itinerant businesses and transient buyers will be responsible for notifying the Chief of Police of the address where these records and articles will be stored.
A nonrefundable fee for initial application and license for a pawnbroker or a dealer in precious metals or other secondhand goods, as covered under this chapter, is $300. The annual renewal fee for a license is $250. These fees are separate from and in addition to any fees the dealer must pay in relation to the mandatory electronic database system designated by the Chief of Police, as provided by §
195-6 of this chapter. Payments are to be made in the manner directed by the Borough Clerk. A license is valid for a one-year period from the date of its issuance.
Each dealer covered under this chapter shall deliver a bond
to the Borough Clerk executed by the applicant as principal and executed
by a surety company authorized to do business under the laws of the
State of New Jersey as surety. The bond shall be subject to review
and approval by the Municipal Attorney, as defined in N.J.S.A. 40A:9-139,
and shall be in the penal sum of $10,000, conditioned for the due
and proper observance of and compliance with the provisions and requirements
of all ordinances of the municipality in force or which may be adopted
respecting the conduct of this business and conditioned also that
the bond shall be and remain for the benefit of any person or persons
who shall have received judgment against the dealer licensed under
this chapter, which damage shall be established by a judgment of a
court of proper jurisdiction. Said bond shall contain the following
language: "The obligation of this bond shall, in addition to the Borough
of Seaside Park, be and remain for the benefit of any person who shall
obtain a judgment against obligor as a result of damage sustained
in operation pursuant to any license granted under this chapter."
Said bond shall be kept for a minimum of one year from the date of
issuance of license and must be renewed annually along with the license.