As used in this division, the term “charitable solicitations campaign” shall mean any course of conduct whereby any person shall solicit property or financial assistance of any kind or sell or offer to sell any article, tag, service, emblem, publication, ticket, advertisement, subscription or anything of value on the plea or representation that such sale or solicitation or the proceeds therefrom are for a charitable, educational, political, patriotic or philanthropic purpose. It shall be unlawful to conduct any charitable solicitations campaign on the streets, in any office building or any other public or private place, by house-to-house canvass, or by telephone in the city unless the person conducting the same and responsible therefor shall first have obtained a permit with the city in compliance with the terms of this division.
(1996 Code, sec. 58-81)
The provisions of this division shall not apply to any:
(1) 
Organization which solicits funds solely from its own members or from its own assemblies, not using public streets or public places for such purposes;
(2) 
Public school which controls the solicitations of funds by parent-teacher association organizations and the solicitations of funds by other activity groups which may be sponsored by the public school or by an association or club whose primary purpose is to sponsor certain student and parent activities for the benefit of such association, club or activity;
(3) 
Solicitation for the benefit of an individual or family that has suffered a personal tragedy resulting from personal injury, illness or the loss of housing; and
(4) 
Solicitations campaign conducted through the use of television or radio as to those activities directly related to the use of television or radio.
(1996 Code, sec. 58-82)
(a) 
A person desiring to conduct a charitable solicitations campaign on the streets or in any public place or by house-to-house canvass in the city shall file an application provided by the office of the city administrator with the city secretary’s office. Such registration statement shall be sworn to by the applicant and shall contain at least the following information:
(1) 
The full name of the organization applying for a permit to solicit and the address of the headquarters in the city; if the organization is a chapter or other affiliate of an organization having its principal office outside the city, the name and address of the parent organization;
(2) 
The names and addresses of all officers and directors or trustees of the organization and the name and city of residence of all officers, directors or trustees of the parent organization, if any;
(3) 
The purpose or purposes for which the gross receipts derived from such solicitations or other activities are to be used;
(4) 
The name of the person by whom the receipts or such solicitation shall be disbursed; if the receipts are transmitted to a parent organization for further disbursement, detailed information on the methods of handling and disbursement of all funds and a detailed and complete financial statement of the parent organization for the last preceding fiscal year;
(5) 
The name and address of the person who will be in charge of conducting the charitable solicitations campaign;
(6) 
An outline of the method or methods to be used in conducting the charitable solicitations campaign;
(7) 
The period within which such charitable solicitations campaign shall be conducted, including the proposed dates for the beginning and ending of such campaign;
(8) 
The total amount of funds proposed to be raised;
(9) 
The amount of all salaries, wages, fees, commissions, expenses and costs to be expended or paid to anyone in connection with such campaign, together with the manner in which such wages, fees, commissions, expenses and costs are to be expended, and the maximum percentage of funds collected which are to be used to pay such expenses of solicitation and collection;
(10) 
A detailed and complete statement of the funds (if any) collected by the applicant during the preceding year from solicitations which were the same or substantially the same as those for which the applicant is seeking a permit, such statement to show the gross amount collected, all costs of collection or solicitation and the final distribution thereof;
(11) 
A full statement of the character and extent of the charitable, educational, political, patriotic or philanthropic work done by the applicant within the city during the last preceding year; and
(12) 
If the applicant is a charitable corporation or other organization, proof of its current status as an organization to which contributions are tax deductible for federal income tax purposes.
(b) 
A fee as established in appendix A to this code must be submitted with each application, unless the applicant can prove indigence or inability to pay, in which case arrangements may be made to pay the requisite fee in installments.
(c) 
The city administrator shall review the application and when he is satisfied that such application is complete, he shall issue a permit to an applicant unless he determines that:
(1) 
One or more of the statements made in the registration statements are not true;
(2) 
The applicant or person in charge of the charitable solicitations campaign has made, or caused to be made false statements or misrepresentations to any member of the public with regard to the charitable solicitations campaign or other activities described in the permit, or has made or caused to be made false statements or misrepresentations in the registration statement, or has in any way publicly represented that the registration granted hereunder is an endorsement or recommendation of the cause for which the charitable solicitations campaign is being conducted, or has otherwise violated any of the terms of registration or this division;
(3) 
The applicant’s fund-raising expense in any charitable solicitations campaign conducted by it, during any of the three years immediately preceding the date of registration, exceeded 25 percent of the gross amount collected, and the expected fund-raising expense of applicant in the campaign for which application is made will exceed 25 percent of the gross amount collected, based upon data concerning prior campaign of applicant and such other data as may be adduced. If such fund raising expenses exceed 25 percent, the applicant shall furnish additional information to justify the need to exceed such expense level; or
(4) 
Under a prior registration obtained from the city, the applicant failed to submit the required reports at the end of the solicitations campaign, or upon investigation of the applicant’s financial records, the financial report submitted was found to be false.
(1996 Code, sec. 58-83; Ordinance adopting Code)
Should an applicant have a permit revoked, he may appeal that action to the city council by submitting a letter to the city administrator’s office within ten days of the action complained of. A hearing on the revocation will then be scheduled for the next regular meeting of the council, or a special meeting of the council, to be held within 15 days of the appeal. The council will render a decision on the appeal within ten days of the hearing.
(1996 Code, sec. 58-84)
All persons or organizations issued a permit under this division shall furnish to the city administrator, within 30 days after the charitable solicitations campaign has been completed, a detailed report and financial statement showing the amount of funds raised by the charitable solicitations campaign, the amount expended in collecting such funds, including a detailed report of the wages, fees, commissions and expenses paid to any person in connection with such solicitation, and the disposition of the balance of the funds collected by the campaign; provided, however, that the city administrator may extend the time of filing of the report required by this section for an additional period of 30 days upon proof that the filing of the report within the time specified will work unnecessary hardship on the permit holder. The permit holder shall make available to the city administrator, or to any person designated in writing by the city administrator as his representative for such purpose, all books, records and papers whereby the accuracy of the report required by this section may be investigated.
(1996 Code, sec. 58-85)
(a) 
All permittees shall furnish proper credentials to their agents and solicitors for such charitable solicitations campaign. Such credentials shall include the name of the registrant, the date, a statement describing the permittee’s charitable, educational, political, patriotic or philanthropic activity; a description of the purpose of the solicitation; the signature of the registrant or of the registrant’s chief executive officer, and the name, address, age, sex and signature of the solicitor to whom such credentials are issued and the specific period of time during which the solicitor is authorized to solicit on behalf of the permittee. No person shall solicit under any permit granted under this division without the credentials required by this section and a facsimile copy of the permit in his possession. The credentials and facsimile copy of the permit shall be shown, upon request, to all persons solicited and to any police officer of the city.
(b) 
No agent or solicitor shall conduct or participate in any charitable solicitations campaign except under a valid permit issued in compliance with this division.
(1996 Code, sec. 58-86)