[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Harrison 4-10-1957.
Amendments noted where applicable.]
A.
No personal property (goods, wares or merchandise) shall
be sold at auction in the Town of Harrison, except in compliance with the
provisions of this chapter.
B.
It shall be unlawful to sell or cause or permit to be
sold at auction any personal property (goods, wares or merchandise) in the
town of Harrison, unless such sale is conducted by an individual who has applied
for and obtained an auctioneer's license from the Town Clerk of the Town
of Harrison.
A.
Every person desiring to obtain a license as an auctioneer
shall file with the Town Clerk a written application for such license, stating:
(1)
The name of the applicant.
(2)
The residence and business address of the applicant.
(3)
A statement as to whether the applicant holds or has
held an auctioneer's license from the state, municipality, governing
body or licensing authority; a list of such licenses and a statement of time
and place and by whom issued; a statement as to whether any state, municipality,
governing body or licensing authority has ever refused to issue or renew an
auctioneer's license to the applicant or has revoked a license held by
the applicant, together with a complete and accurate statement as to the reason
for any such refusal or revocation and such other information as required
by the Town Clerk or the Chief of Police.
[Amended 2-19-1992]
(4)
A statement as to whether or not the applicant has ever
been convicted of any crime, misdemeanor or violation of any municipal ordinance
and, if so, the nature of the offense and the punishment or penalty assessed.
B.
Such application shall be signed and verified before
a notary public or other officer authorized to administer oaths in the State
of New York.
C.
Such application shall be accompanied by a photograph
of the applicant taken within 60 days immediately preceding the date of filing
the application, which shall show the applicant's head and shoulders
in a clear and distinguishing manner. This requirement may be waived by the
Town Clerk with respect to a renewal application filed by a person holding
an unexpired auctioneer's license issued under the provisions of this
chapter and who has furnished the required photograph in connection with a
previous application.
[Amended 2-19-1992]
Such application shall be accompanied by a bond in favor of the Town
of Harrison and executed by a surety acceptable to the Town Clerk in the amount
of $10,000, conditioned that the applicant, if issued an auctioneer's
license, will comply fully with the provisions of the ordinance of the Town
of Harrison regulating and concerning auctions and auctioneers; will render
true and strict accounts of all his sales to any person or persons employing
him to make the same; will not practice any fraud or deceit upon bidders or
purchasers of property from him at any auction sale or suffer or permit any
person in his employ to practice any such fraud or deceit; and will pay all
damages which may be sustained by any person by reason of any fraud, deceit,
negligence or other wrongful act on the part of the licensee, his agent or
employees in the conduct of any auction or in the exercise of the calling
of auctioneer.
[Amended 2-19-1992]
Every such application for an auctioneer's license shall be referred
to the Chief of Police for such investigation of the character, repute and
business responsibility of the applicant as he may think warranted in the
circumstances. The applicant's fingerprints shall be taken under the
supervision of the Chief of Police or his agent. The Chief of Police shall
advise the Town Clerk, in writing, within a reasonable time whether the moral
character and business responsibility of the applicant are satisfactory. This
requirement may be waived by the Town Clerk with respect to a renewal application
filed by a person holding an unexpired license issued under the provisions
of this chapter and as to whom such investigation has been made in connection
with a previous application. Each applicant shall be fingerprinted by the
Town of Harrison Police Department, which will then submit the fingerprints
to the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services for a criminal
background investigation. In addition to any fees provided in this chapter,
the applicant shall be charged the processing fee for a full search and return
the form to the New York State Division of Criminal Justice.
Upon compliance with the conditions set forth in this chapter and the
receipt of the fee herein specified, the Town Clerk may issue an auctioneer's
license to the applicant. No license shall be refused except for a specific
reason and for the protection of the public safety, good order and morals.
All licenses shall be consecutively numbered in the order of issuance and
shall show the date on which they were issued, the date on which they shall
expire, the fee paid and the name and business address of the licensee.
Any person who has been refused an auctioneer's license by the
Town Clerk may appeal such refusal by making an application to the Town Board,
which may grant or deny the application for such license.
[Amended 2-19-1986 by L.L. No. 2-1986; 2-19-1992; 2-21-2007
by L.L. No. 1-2007]
The annual fee for an auctioneer's license or any renewal thereof shall be as set forth in the most current resolution of the Town Board fixing the fee pursuant to § 137-1 of the Town Code.
Every license shall expire on the 31st day of December next following
its issuance. Licenses may be renewed on or after the first day of January
upon payment of the required fee.
The Town Clerk may issue a duplicate license to replace a license that
has been lost, stolen or destroyed, upon the filing of an affidavit explaining
the facts of such loss or theft and the payment of $1 for the duplicate license.
No person shall destroy, deface or in any way alter an auctioneer's license.
The Town Board may revoke any license issued under this chapter to any applicant whom the Town Board, after a public hearing at which the licensee shall have an opportunity to be heard, shall determine to be an undesirable person or incapable of properly conducting the trade or business of an auctioneer. Violations of any of the prohibitions set forth under § 95-12 hereof shall be sufficient grounds for such a determination. On the revocation of a license, no part of the license fee shall be refunded, and no license shall be granted to a person whose license has been revoked for a period of two years from the date of such revocation.
A.
No license under the provisions of this chapter shall
be transferred or assigned to any person or used by any person other than
the licensee to whom it was issued.
B.
No person having a license granted under this chapter
shall delegate his power to any clerk, partner or person, but the privilege
given shall be personal to the person named in the license and shall be exercised
by him alone.
No auctioneer shall:
A.
Make any false representation as to the character, quality,
condition, previous history, value or ownership of any property offered for
sale.
B.
Substitute any other article for the article sold to
the bidder.
C.
Bid in any property offered for sale by himself, and
no person shall act as an accomplice or capper for the purpose of making mock
bids at any auction.
D.
Employ a bellman, crier, instrument of music, loudspeaker
or other means of attracting the attention of passersby, other than a sign
or flag which shall bear the license number.
E.
Conduct any auction sale for a transient merchant or
other person, firm or corporation who or which has not procured a permit as
required by law or ordinance or whose permit has expired or been revoked.
F.
Refuse to exhibit his license to any police officer,
upon demand, at the place where an auction is being conducted.
G.
Receive for sale by auction or sell by auction any goods,
wares or merchandise from or to any minor, knowing him to be such.
H.
Conduct an auction sale of personal property in any streets,
sidewalks or public property of the Town of Harrison.
Every auctioneer shall, upon the receipt or acceptance by him of any
goods for the purpose of sale at auction and before offering the same or any
part thereof for sale at auction, write or cause to be written, in a book
to be kept by him for the purpose the name and address of the person who employed
him to sell such goods at auction; the name and address of the person for
whose benefit, behalf or account such goods are to be sold at auction; the
name and address of the person from whom such auctioneer received or accepted
such goods; the name and address of the person who was the owner, the authorized
agent of the owner or the consignor of such goods immediately prior to the
receipt of acceptance for the purpose of sale at auction of the same by such
auctioneer; the location, with street and number, if any, of such goods immediately
prior to the receipt or acceptance of the same by such auctioneer for the
purpose of sale at auction; the date of the receipt or acceptance by such
auctioneer of such goods for the purpose of sale at auction; the place, with
street and number, if any, in which such goods are to be held, kept or stored
until sold or offered for sale at auction; the place, with street and number,
if any, in which such goods are to be sold or offered for sale at auction;
a description of such goods, the quantity thereof and the distinctive marks
thereon, if any; and the terms and conditions upon which such auctioneer received
or accepted such goods for sale at auction. Such book and the entries therein
made, as provided for in this section, shall, at all reasonable times, be
open to the inspection of the Town Clerk, Chief of Police or their duly authorized
agents.
A.
Any person intending to sell at public auction any goods,
wares or chattels shall make application to the Town Clerk for a permit to
hold such sale and shall not hold such sale until issuance of said permit.
B.
Such application shall be in writing and shall be verified
and filed not more than 15 nor less than five days before the commencement
of such sale. It shall set forth the name and address of the applicant, the
name and address of the auctioneer and the street and number of the premises
in which it is proposed to conduct such sale.
A.
There shall be attached to the application a verified
inventory, in triplicate, showing in detail the quality, quantity, kind or
grade of goods, wares and chattels proposed to be sold and the established
current retail prices, if any, of said goods, wares and chattels and specifically
stating the ownership of the items or articles. The inventory shall be verified
by the applicant, if he is an individual; by one of the partners, if a partnership;
or by a duly authorized officer, if a corporation. No goods, wares or chattels
shall be added to the verified inventory after same has been filed, nor shall
any goods, wares or chattels be sold which are not included in such verified
inventory.
B.
The Town Clerk or his duly authorized agent may examine
and investigate the goods, wares and chattels specified in the inventory to
be offered for sale to determine whether said inventory correctly sets forth
the items to be sold and their true value. The Town Clerk may, upon examination
of the inventory filed, require such additional information as may be necessary
to ascertain the correctness of the items set forth in said inventory. The
Town Clerk shall refuse to issue such permit in the event that he finds that
any material misrepresentation has been made in the application or inventory
provided for in the chapter, or in the case of an auction proposed to be held
in a private residence or in an area designated as a residential area by any
ordinance of the Town of Harrison, he shall refuse to issue such permit if
he finds that the inventory includes items other than household furniture
and effects of the owner of the premises used by him upon such premises. Notice
of refusal and the reason or reasons therefor, in writing, shall be served,
by the Town Clerk upon the person named in the application, by mailing the
same to the business address given in the application and upon filing a copy
of such with the Chief of Police. An applicant who has been refused a permit
by the Town Clerk may apply to the Town Board for a permit, which may grant
or deny the application for a permit.
[Amended 2-19-1986 by L.L. No. 2-1986; 12-19-1990; 2-19-1992; 2-21-2007 by L.L. No. 1-2007]
Upon filing the application for a permit to conduct a sale at public auction, the applicant shall pay to the Town Clerk a fee as set forth in the most current resolution of the Town Board fixing the fee pursuant to § 137-1 of the Town Code. If any application is disapproved, the fee paid shall be retained by the Town of Harrison to cover the cost of investigating the statements contained in such application.
A.
No sale at public auction shall continue for a longer
period than that for which the permit was issued, Sundays and legal holidays
excluded.
B.
A sale by auction conducted in a private residence or
on premises located within an area designated as a residential area by any
ordinance of the Town of Harrison shall not exceed two days in duration; shall
not be held more frequently than once in any six-month period during which
such residence or premises is owned by the same person, firm or corporation;
and shall be confined to the sale of household furniture and effects that
are the property of the owner of the premises and used by such owner upon
the said premises.
Nothing herein contained shall apply to judicial sales or sales by,
or for the accounts of, executors or administrators, by trustees under deed
of assignment, by lienors, by public officers in the manner prescribed by
law or to sales of real property at auction.
[Amended 2-19-1986 by L.L. No. 2-1986]
Any person violating any of the provisions of this chapter shall, upon
conviction, be punishable by a fine not to exceed $250 or by imprisonment
for a term not to exceed 15 days, or both.
