[HISTORY: Adopted by the Village Board of the Village of Johnson
Creek 12-1-1994 by Ord. No. 12-94 as § 31.03 of the 1994 Code; amended
in its entirety at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions,
Art. II). Subsequent amendments noted where applicable.]
No person shall engage in the business of peddler, hawker, solicitor,
canvasser or transient merchant within the Village without first obtaining
a license from the Village Clerk-Treasurer in compliance with the provisions
of this chapter.
This chapter or any part thereof shall not apply to newspaper delivery persons; merchants delivering goods in the regular course of business; vendors of frozen foods, bakery goods, or grocery products to only regular customers on established routes; minors who are residents of the Johnson Creek School District; or persons holding a state license issued pursuant to § 440.51, Wis. Stats., but such persons shall comply with the provisions of § 193-8 of this chapter.
At the time of filing an application, an investigation fee as provided in Chapter 33, Fees, shall be paid to the Village Clerk-Treasurer to cover the cost of investigation of the facts regulated, and the application shall be filed with the Village Clerk-Treasurer and shall contain such information as the Clerk-Treasurer shall require for the effective enforcement of this chapter and the safeguarding of the residents of the Village from fraud, misconduct or abuse.
Upon receipt of each application, the Clerk-Treasurer shall provide
the Police Chief with all information contained therein. The Police Chief
shall institute an investgation of the applicant's business and moral character
as he deems necessary for the protection of the public good and shall endorse
his approval or disapproval upon said application with 72 hours after it has
been filed with him and shall approve or deny the license in accordance with
his findings after presentation by the applicant of a receipt showing payment
of the required fee.
The fee for a peddler/transient merchant and soliciting license shall be as provided in Chapter 33, Fees. Annual licenses issued on or after July 1 shall be issued for 1/2 of the required annual fee. No fee shall be required for a canvasser's license or for exempt organizations. Peddlers/transient merchants may employ two assistants without payment of an additional license fee, but such persons must comply with the other provisions of this chapter.
If the Police Chief determines from his investigation of the application that the interests of the Village or of inhabitants of the Village require protection against possible misconduct of the licensee or that the applicant is otherwise qualified but due to causes beyond his control is unable to supply all of the information required by § 193-3, he may require the applicant to file with the Village Clerk-Treasurer a bond in the sum of $1,000 with surety that he will fully comply with the ordinances of the Village and laws of the state relating to peddlers, solicitors, canvassers or transient merchants and guaranteeing to any citizen of the Village of Johnson Creek doing business with him that the property purchased will be delivered according to the representations of the applicant, provided that action to recover on any such bond shall be commenced within six months after the expiration of the license of the principal.
The Village Clerk-Treasurer shall date all licenses issued hereunder
and shall specify thereon the fee paid and date of expiration. Annual licenses
shall be issued on a calendar-year basis and expire December 31 of the year
of issue. Applications for renewals shall be handled in the same manner as
original applications. Licenses issued under this chapter are personal and
may not be transferred.
A.
Consent required. No peddler, solicitor, canvasser or
transient merchant shall go in or upon any private residence, business establishment
or office in the Village for the purpose of soliciting orders for goods, wares
and merchandise or peddling or hawking the same or soliciting subscriptions
for magazines or other periodicals without having been requested or invited
to do so by the owner or owners, occupant or occupants of said place.
B.
Days and hours of operation. A peddler/transient merchant
shall be prohibited from calling at any dwelling or other place on Sundays
or holidays and between the hours of 9:00 p.m. and 9:00 a.m. except by appointment.
C.
Display of license. Persons licensed under this chapter
shall carry their licenses with them while engaged in licensed activities
and shall display such licenses to any police officer or citizen upon request.
D.
Misrepresentation prohibited. No licensee shall intentionally
misrepresent to any prospective customer the purpose of his visit or solicitation,
nor the name or business of his principal, if any, nor the source of supply
of the goods, wares or merchandise which he sells or offers for sale, nor
the disposition of the proceeds or profits of his sales.
E.
Loud noises and speaking devices. No licensee shall have
any exclusive right to any location in the public streets, nor shall any licensee
be permitted a stationary location thereon, nor shall any licensee be permitted
to operate in a congested area where such operation might impede or inconvenience
the public use of such streets. For the purpose of this chapter, the judgment
of a police officer, exercised in good faith, shall be deemed conclusive as
to whether the area is congested and the public impeded or inconvenienced.
F.
No peddler/transient merchant shall impede the free use
of sidewalks and streets by pedestrians and vehicles.
Licenses issued under the provisions of this chapter may be revoked
or suspended by the Village President or Police Chief for a period not to
exceed five days pending hearing by the Village Board for fraud, misrepresentation
or incorrect statement contained in the application or made in the course
of carrying on business, conviction of the licensee of any crime or misdemeanor,
or conducting the licensed business in an unlawful or disorderly manner or
in such a manner as to menace the health, safety or general welfare of the
public.
The penalty for violation of any provision of this chapter shall be a penalty as provided in § 60-1 of this Code. A separate offense shall be deemed committed on each day on which a violation occurs or continues.
