No person shall drive a taxicab for hire upon the streets of the Borough unless such person shall have first obtained and shall have then in force a driver's license issued by the State of New Jersey, Division of Motor Vehicles, and a taxi driver's license issued by the Borough pursuant to the provisions of this article.
[Amended 11-14-1971 by Ord. No. 685]
No taxi driver's license shall be granted to any person unless such person is at least 19 years of age and until such person shall have filed an application, in writing, addressed to the Borough Clerk, setting forth his full name, his place of residence, his age and certification as to his good moral character and ability, signed by at least two citizens of New Jersey, together with certificate issued by the Chief of Police of the Borough of Paramus, certifying that he has been photographed and fingerprinted, and that the same are on file in the Paramus Police Headquarters, together with such other facts as the Mayor and Council may require; and provided further that there shall have been paid to the Borough Clerk for the use of the Borough the license fee herein provided for.
[Amended 6-23-1981 by Ord. No. 81-14; 10-25-1983 by Ord. No. 83-27]
A. 
No taxicab driver's license shall be issued to any person until he has filed a written application with the Borough Clerk, on forms provided by the Borough, and containing the following information:
(1) 
The full name and address of the applicant.
(2) 
Age and place of birth.
(3) 
The length of time he has resided in the county, and places of residence in the county for the three years last past.
(4) 
Whether his state driver's license issued by the Division of Motor Vehicles has ever been revoked or suspended, and for what reason.
(5) 
Such other facts as the Mayor and Council may require.
B. 
The application shall be accompanied by the annual license fee, hereby fixed in the sum of $15, plus any fee required by the New Jersey State Police and/or the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The application shall have attached to it a certificate as to the good moral character and ability of the applicant, signed by at least two citizens of Bergen County, New Jersey, and a physician's certificate certifying that the applicant has been examined within the preceding 30 days and that he has no infirmity of body or mind which might render him unfit for the safe operation of a taxicab.
[Amended 11-24-1992 by Ord. No. 92-23]
Upon the filing of the application, the Borough Clerk shall refer the same to the Chief of Police for his investigation and recommendation and shall direct the applicant to the Police Department to be photographed and fingerprinted. The Police Department shall return to the Borough Clerk two of said photographs, one of which shall be attached to the license when issued in such manner that it cannot be removed and another photograph substituted without detection. The other photograph shall be filed with the application in the office of the Borough Clerk, and the remaining photographs, together with the fingerprints of the applicant, shall remain on file in police headquarters.
[Amended 11-4-1971 by Ord. No. 685]
The Chief of Police of the Borough of Paramus shall recommend to the Mayor and Council his approval or disapproval of the application for license herein provided for but in no case shall he recommend an approval unless it shall appear to be to the best interests of the Borough that such license should be granted. The Chief of Police may, in his discretion, issue a temporary taxi driver's license, to be effective immediately, subject to completion of all requirements herein specified within 30 days of issuance thereof.
In the event that the Mayor and Council shall determine that the license should not be granted, notice of such rejection shall be promptly given to the applicant.
A. 
The taxi driver's license shall be in such form as to contain the photograph referred to in § 285-18 and shall contain the signature of the licensee.
B. 
Each licensed driver shall at all times have his license and photograph openly and conspicuously exhibited in the taxicab he is driving.
C. 
Any licensee who willfully and maliciously defaces, damages or obliterates any official entry made upon his license shall be subject to the penalty of revocation of said license.
A. 
With the issuance of each taxi driver's license, the Borough Clerk shall furnish the licensee with a badge bearing his license number. In case the licensee shall lose his badge, he may procure a duplicate thereof from the Borough Clerk upon payment of the actual cost thereof.
B. 
Such badge shall be worn by the licensee on the outside of his hat or clothing at all times while operating the taxicab. Such badge shall not be used by any person other than the person to whom it was issued.
C. 
Upon suspension or revocation of a taxi driver's license, the driver shall surrender the badge to the Chief of Police. In the case of suspension, the Chief of Police shall return the badge at the expiration of the period for which the driver was suspended.