For the purpose of this chapter, certain words and phrases are defined and certain provisions shall be construed as herein set forth, unless it is apparent from the context that a different meaning is intended.
(Added by Ord. 97, adopted 5-26-58)
"Auctioneer" is any person who at public outcry shall offer for sale, as principal or agent, to the highest bidder on the spot, any article of merchandise or other property.
(Added by Ord. 97, adopted 5-26-58)
"Auction sale" includes a sale of property by public outcry to the highest bidder, as where successive increased bids are made.
(Added by Ord. 97, adopted 5-26-58)
"Jewelry" includes any goods, wares and merchandise customarily kept in retail jewelry stores for sale including, but not limited to, precious and semi-precious stones and imitations thereof, whether sold or offered for sale with or without sets, watches, rings, brilliants, articles made in whole or in part of gold, silver, platinum or other precious or semi-precious metal whether solid, plated or overlaid.
(Added by Ord. 97, adopted 5-26-58)
No person shall sell, exhibit for sale or offer for sale by way of auction except under and by virtue of legal process, any personal property or cause or permit the sale, exhibit for sale or offer for sale by way of auction except under and by virtue of legal process, any personal property whether the same shall be their property or whether they be acting as agents or employees of others without first obtaining a permit therefor as provided in this chapter. Any such permit granted hereunder shall not be assignable or transferable.
(Added by Ord. 97, adopted 5-26-58)
The provisions of this chapter shall not apply to banks or trust companies or trustees in bankruptcy or assignees for the benefit of creditors providing such assignees sell only personal property belong to the debtors of such creditor at the time of the assignment or any executor or administrator selling or disposing of property, real or personal, at auction, nor to sales by or on behalf of licensed pawnbrokers of unredeemed pledges in the manner provided by law; provided, however, that not less than 10 days prior to the commencement of an auction sale by a pawnbroker he shall notify the Chief of Police in writing of his intention to conduct such sale and the time, place and estimated duration thereof, and provided, further, that the pledge number of each article to be sold or offered for sale at such auction shall be affixed to such article and shall be announced by the auctioneer at the time such article is offered for sale at auction.
(Added by Ord. 97, adopted 5-26-58)
The provisions of this chapter shall not apply to any auction held solely for charitable or benevolent purposes, provided that notice of such auction be given in writing to the Chief of Police not less than 10 days prior to the commencement of such auction sale.
(Added by Ord. 97, adopted 5-26-58)
Each applicant for a permit to conduct an auction sale of any personal property shall post with the City Clerk prior to the issuance of such permit, a cash or corporate surety bond satisfactory in form to the City Attorney in the sum of $5,000.00 conditioned upon the observance by applicant of all the provisions of this chapter and upon the truth of all the representations made in connection with the application for a permit and in the course of any auction sale and as a guarantee that the purchase price of any article purchased will be returned to any purchaser upon return of the article purchased and upon proof that any false or misleading statement or representation has been made concerning any personal property sold or offered for sale to said purchaser at said auction sale.
(Added by Ord. 97, adopted 5-26-58)
Any person desiring to sell personal property at an auction sale shall file with the Chief of Police an application for a permit and such filing shall be at least five days prior to the date of the commencement of such auction; provided, however, that unless such application is filed at least 30 days prior to the date of such auction, the Chief of Police may delay the commencement of such auction for such additional period of time as may be necessary to complete the necessary investigation. Said application shall be accompanied by a deposit of $250.00 and said application shall be verified and shall set forth therein the following information:
(a) 
The name and address of the applicant.
(b) 
Location of the place where the auction will be conducted.
(c) 
The length of time for which the permit is desired and the date when the applicant wishes to commence the auction.
(d) 
The names and addresses of the auctioneers who will cry the sale at the auction.
(e) 
An inventory of all articles which the applicant proposes to sell at the auction, which inventory shall be prepared as follows:
Each item shall be listed separately and following the listing of each such item:
(1) 
A description of the article, giving the name of the manufacturer, if known, the manufacturer's number, if any, the name, size or weight of any precious or semi-precious stones, the kind of metal, the grade or fineness thereof used in any article together with such other and further information as reasonably shall tend to inform persons examining the inventory of the nature and quality of the article listed and to identify the same.
(2) 
The wholesale or invoice value thereof.
(3) 
The name of the owner of each item of personal property proposed to be sold at said auction.
(Amended by Ord. 209, adopted 8-24-62)
Upon receipt of such application and deposit, the Chief of Police shall cause each item of the inventory submitted to be checked with the actual item in the applicant's place of business, and shall cause an investigation to be made to ascertain the truthfulness of the sworn statement submitted by the applicant and to determine whether the items described in the inventory are a bona fide part of the applicant's stock in trade. The applicant shall be charged $25 (or prevailing rate of pay for work of this type) for each day or fraction thereof required to make such investigation. Such amount shall be deducted from the deposit made by the applicant with the Chief of Police, and the amount that remains in the hands of the Chief of Police after such deduction shall be refunded to the applicant.
If the deposit of $250.00 is insufficient to pay the cost of making the investigation, the Chief of Police shall notify the applicant in writing of that fact and shall set forth the estimated additional necessary expenses for completing such investigation, and the applicant shall then deposit with the Chief of Police such additional amount. If such additional amount is not deposited within five days, the application shall lapse and any further proceedings for a permit must be pursuant to a new application.
(Added by Ord. 97, adopted 5-26-58)
After such investigation and if the application is proper and the description of the articles to be offered for sale is accurate and such articles have been labeled or tagged as required herein, the Chief of Police shall order the permit to be issued to the applicant unless he is prohibited from so doing by Section 6606 or unless he finds that the conduct of such sale at the time or place or by the applicant would be against public interest or done to perpetrate a fraud upon the public or that a false statement knowingly or intentionally was made in the application or that persons listed by the applicant as the ones proposed to conduct the auction sale, or cry out the public sale at the auction, are by reason of their past record likely to perpetrate a fraud upon the public.
(Added by Ord. 97, adopted 5-26-58)
No permit shall be issued for conducting an auction sale to any person unless such person for the period of 18 months next preceding the date of filing an application for such permit shall have maintained a place of business in the City and have been engaged continuously in the City in the business of selling the kind of merchandise to be sold or offered for sale at auction at wholesale or retail.
The provisions of this section are not intended to preclude an auctioneer from obtaining an auctioneer's license for the purpose of acting as an auctioneer at any auction sale; provided, he is acting as an agent for some person having received the permit provided for in this chapter.
No permit shall be issued to any person who has been convicted of violating any law or ordinance relating to auction sales for a period of five years after such conviction.
(Added by Ord. 97, adopted 5-26-58)
No permit shall authorize the conducting of an auction sale for a period of more than 21 calendar days provided, however, the time may be extended by the Chief of Police upon good cause shown for not more than 15 days.
(Added by Ord. 97, adopted 5-26-58)
All personal property to be sold or offered for sale at auction sales shall have been the property of the applicant for at least 60 days prior to the time of the filing of an application for a permit hereunder.
(Added by Ord. 97, adopted 5-26-58)
No permittee or auctioneer shall offer for sale, or sell, either for himself or for another, at any auction sale, any jewelry or other articles offered for sale under said authorized permit, unless there is securely attached to the article so offered for sale or sold, a tag or card or label bearing accurate reference to the written inventory, upon which shall be plainly written or printed in English a true and correct statement of the kind or quality or weight of the metal of which said article is made or composed, and the percentage or carat of purity of such metal; and in case such article is plated or overlaid, then such statement shall contain a true statement of the kind of plate and the percentage of purity of such plate, and the kind of metal or material covered, and in case such article is a precious or semi-precious stone, such statement shall contain the true name, weight, quality and fineness of such stone; and in case such article be a watch or clock, such statement shall contain the true name of the manufacturer thereof; and in case any second hand or old movement or substitute part of movement of any watch or clock be offered for sale in a new case, such fact shall be set forth in said statement, and no such article so sold or offered for sale shall bear any false or misleading name, description or entry thereon; and it shall be deemed prima facie evidence of intent to defraud or violate the provisions of this Code where such goods, wares, merchandise or articles so sold or offered for sale, fail to compare with the descriptions indicated on the tag, card or label as hereinbefore provided.
Such tag, card, or label shall remain securely attached to any article so sold or offered for sale, and shall be delivered to the purchaser by the permittee, or his auctioneer so selling the same as a correct description and representation of the article so sold. In case there is more than one of the same kind of article to be sold, then such tag, card or label shall indicate the chronological number of the respective articles of the same class so sold.
(Added by Ord. 97, adopted 5-26-58)
No auction sale shall be conducted on Sunday or between the hours of 6:00 p.m. any day and 8:00 a.m. of the next succeeding day, nor shall any auction sale be held on any of the following days of any year: January 1st, July 4th, Labor Day, Armistice Day, Thanksgiving or December 25.
(Added by Ord. 97, adopted 5-26-58)
No permittee, auctioneer or other person shall procure, employ, include or engage any person to make, utter or offer, or employ another to act as by bidder, or what is commonly known as "capper" or "booster," or make, or accept any false or misleading bid or falsely pretend to buy or sell any article sold or offered for sale, or make, utter, or offer a fictitious bid at any auction sale, or conspire with any person to make a fictitious bid at any auction sale, or himself fictitiously list, declare or utter any bid at any such auction sale. At the time of making a sale to the highest bidder on any article sold by auction, the auctioneer shall point out or otherwise designate the successful bidder so that the same shall be discernible to others present.
(Added by Ord. 97, adopted 5-26-58)
No bellman or crier, nor any drum or fife or other instrument of music, nor any signal or means of attracting the attention of the public other than a sign or flag, shall be employed or suffered or permitted to be used in connection with any auction sale, or at, or near, any place of such sale, or at or near any auction room, nor shall there be any other inducement, gift or drawing for the purpose of encouraging attendance at such sale.
(Added by Ord. 97, adopted 5-26-58)
No permittee, auctioneer or other person, while bidding is in progress for any jewelry, goods, wares or merchandise shall offer additional articles as a premium to the successful bidder.
(Added by Ord. 97, adopted 5-26-58)
The Chief of Police shall be represented at such sale and shall cause each item offered for sale or sold to be checked with the inventory filed by the applicant with the Chief of Police, and shall cause to be entered on such inventory the date of the sale of each item and the price at which the same is sold. The person obtaining such permit shall pay daily in advance to the Chief of Police an amount equal to the actual or prorated daily compensation paid or to be paid by said City to the person representing the Chief of Police at such sale, not exceeding the sum of $25 per day (or the prevailing rate of pay for work of this type).
Any police officer hereby is empowered to enter any place in the City where any auction sale is being conducted and to inspect or investigate the jewelry, goods, wares, merchandise or articles sold or offered for sale, or any records, books, or inventory pertaining to the merchandise so offered for sale.
(Added by Ord. 97, adopted 5-26-58)
No auctioneer or any person managing, conducting or carrying on an auction sale as agent or principal shall make any false or misleading statement or representation either verbal or written concerning any article sold or proposed to be sold at any auction sale or concerning said sale.
(Added by Ord. 97, adopted 5-26-58)
During such auction sale no addition whatsoever shall be made to the stock of personal property set forth in the inventory attached to the application for a permit, and nothing shall be offered for sale or sold at any such sale which is in addition to the stock of merchandise described in said inventory, or which has been added to the applicant's stock within a period of 60 days prior to the date the applicant filed application for permit. The inventory offered for sale at auction shall not exceed fifty percent of the average inventory carried by the applicant over the preceding five-year period. If applicant has been in business less than five years, the inventory offered for sale at auction shall not exceed by 50% the average inventory carried for the period of time applicant has been in business. Any abnormal purchases during the year prior to the application for permit shall be cause for refusal to issue such permit, and it shall be unlawful for any person to offer for sale or sell at any auction sale any personal property in addition to the stock listed and described in said inventory.
(Added by Ord. 97, adopted 5-26-58)
The person to whom the permit has been granted shall remain in continuous attendance at all times while such auction sale is being conducted, and shall be responsible for any violation of the provisions of this chapter.
(Added by Ord. 97, adopted 5-26-58)
The Chief of Police, upon receiving satisfactory evidence of the violation of any provision of this chapter, or of any law or ordinance relating to the conduct of such business, shall have the power forthwith to revoke the permit of any person to conduct an auction sale. Upon the revocation of such permit, the right of such person to conduct such auction sale shall terminate.
If any such person shall feel aggrieved by the revocation of such permit by the Chief of Police, such person shall have the right to appeal from such action to the City Manager for a review of such action. The City Manager shall hold a hearing thereon upon notice to the permittee, and the findings and orders of the City Manager thereafter made shall be final and conclusive and be binding upon all parties concerned.
In the event of the revocation of a permit, the permittee shall not be eligible to receive an additional permit for a period of one year after the time of such revocation.
(Added by Ord. 97, adopted 5-26-58)
Notwithstanding any other provisions of this chapter, the Council may waive any or all of the requirements or provisions of this chapter upon good cause shown and upon determining that the proposed auction is for a bona fide local organization serving a public purpose and that the auction will be conducted by or on behalf of a bona fide and nonprofit organization.
Any organization seeking a waiver hereunder shall make a written application to the City Manager setting forth the name of the organization on whose behalf the auction will be held and the names of the persons proposing to conduct the auction, the type of goods, wares, or merchandise that will be offered for sale, the source of such goods, wares, or merchandise, the time, place, and date of the sale, and such other information the City Manager may require to determine that no fraud will be perpetrated upon the public.
The City Manager is hereby authorized and shall have the power to suspend any license issued under the provisions of this chapter upon the receipt of satisfactory evidence of the violation of the terms and purpose of this section; or upon the determination of the submittal of false information on the application of a material nature; or upon the violation of any other law or ordinance of the state or of the City which reasonably relates to such business. Such suspension shall prohibit the licensee from conducting or continuing to conduct such auction sale until the Council can hold a hearing on such matter.
Any order of suspension shall be directed to the licensee, shall set forth the general nature of the cause for suspension, and shall set the time at which the Council will meet to review the order of suspension.
The City Manager shall present the application to the Council together with such reports and recommendations as may be helpful to the Council in making its decision to carry out the prescribed purposes of this section. The City Manager may recommend and the Council may require such bonding, affidavits, or other guarantees as may be considered necessary to achieve the purposes of this section.
(Added by Ord. 602, adopted 7-24-79)