[Adopted by the Town Council of the Municipality of Kingston 2-3-2014 by Ord. No. 2014-2. Amendments noted where applicable.]
No person shall exercise or carry on the business, trade or
occupation of buying scrap gold, old gold, silver, jewelry, home electronics/audio
and visual equipment, musical instruments, telephones and telephonic
equipment, scales, computers, computer hardware and software, typewriters,
word processors, scanners, sporting goods of all kinds, antiques,
platinum, all other precious metals, tools of all kinds, televisions,
VCRs, DVRs, camcorders, car stereos, firearms, or other valuable articles,
hereinafter referred to as "secondhand goods or articles," or being
a secondhand dealer within the Municipality of Kingston, without having
first obtained a license from the Municipality of Kingston Code Enforcement/Licenses
and Permits Office as hereinafter provided. A secondhand dealer is
defined as a person, association, corporation or partnership, or other
entity, who, wholly or in part, engages in or operates the trade or
business of buying or acquiring any article mentioned above, or other
valuable articles, except from a regularly established wholesale dealer.
For purposes of this chapter, all employees of said facility shall
also be considered secondhand dealers.
The Municipality of Kingston Code Enforcement/Licenses and Permits
Office shall, from time to time, give and grant licenses to all proper
persons, except persons convicted of receiving stolen property or
goods, theft, any crime of deception, burglary or conspiracy to commit
any of the aforementioned crimes, who may apply for the same to use,
exercise and carry on the trade, business or occupation of buying
secondhand goods or articles, or being a secondhand dealer, which
said license shall state where said business is to be carried on,
and shall continue in force for one year (unless sooner because of
suspension or revocation), and no longer, and each person applying
for such license. If his/her application be approved, in writing,
by the Municipality of Kingston Code Enforcement/Licenses and Permits
Office, he/she shall pay to said official for the use of the municipality
the sum of $50 and receive from the said official a license to carry
out the said business. The license so granted shall only be valid
for one place of business. Once licensed, it shall be the applicant's
responsibility to renew the license each year prior to the expiration
of the current license. The reapplication process, to include all
fees, shall be the same as the original process defined herein.
A.
All secondhand dealer applicants, to include all employees or any
applicant, shall be required to submit to a criminal history records
check conducted by the Municipality of Kingston Police Department.
No applicant or employee shall be granted a license or allowed to
work in any facility covered by this chapter without successfully
passing a criminal history records check. After licensing, should
a secondhand dealer hire a new employee, prior to the employee being
allowed to work in the licensed facility, the employee applicant shall
have to submit to and successfully pass a criminal history records
check.
B.
The criminal history records check of an applicant must be conducted
prior to application. Any fee(s) for the criminal history records
check shall be the sole responsibility of the applicant. Applicants
shall report to the Municipality of Kingston Police Department Monday
through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., and request the criminal history
records check of the Police Department office. Once completed, the
officer will notify the applicant by phone that he/she may contact
the Municipality of Kingston Code Enforcement/Licenses and Permits
Office to complete the application. The criminal history records check
shall be provided to the Code Enforcement/Licenses and Permits Office
and shall be a permanent part of the application, to remain with the
Code Enforcement/Licenses and Permits Office.
C.
Any conviction of any of the crimes listed in § 145-2 of this chapter shall be an immediate disqualification and disallow the applicant from ever obtaining a license, as well as disqualifying any employee from ever being allowed to work at any secondhand goods establishment within the Municipality of Kingston.
No person shall use the streets, lanes, courts, alleys, highways,
buildings, houses, parks, playgrounds or grounds of the Municipality
for the purpose of purchasing or trading in secondhand goods or articles,
or act as a secondhand dealer, until a license for that purpose has
first been issued/granted by the Municipality of Kingston Code Enforcement/Licenses
and Permits Office.
All licensees shall conduct their business in conformity with
the following procedures:
A.
Each and every person licensed shall carry said license on his/her
person/business for inspection by any law enforcement officer or other
designated municipal employee. The licensee shall also keep a log
in which shall be legibly written, in the English language, the name
of the person, his/her address, date of birth, a valid driver's
license, valid state identification card, valid passport, or a valid
military identification. The licensee's log shall have a description
of each and every article purchased (which will include any serial
numbers and/or service log numbers), the date and time purchased,
the amount of money paid therefor, and the signature of the seller.
The log shall be available for review by any law enforcement officer
and/or any other designated municipal employee.
B.
At the time of the transaction, all licensees shall fill out the
forms furnished by the Luzerne County District Attorney's Office,
and such forms will be entered into the Luzerne County Precious Metals
Database (http://nepapmdb.com) within 48 hours of the time of purchase.
C.
All goods purchased by licensees under this chapter must be retained
in the possession of the licensee for 15 days from the date the goods
are entered in the secondhand dealer's/pawn shop's database.
D.
No licensee shall purchase such secondhand goods, articles, or other
articles of value from any person under 18 years of age, from any
intoxicated person, any person known to be a thief or associate of
thieves, receiver of stolen property, or any person whom the licensee
has reason to suspect or believes to be such.
E.
No licensee shall purchase any item he/she believes to be stolen,
nor shall he/she purchase any item that has any serial number altered,
removed, or partially removed.
F.
The Municipality of Kingston Code Enforcement/Licenses and Permits
Office and the Chief of Police are hereby authorized to make any other
rules and regulations necessary, in their opinion, for the proper
conduct of the person or business licensed, and must report such rules
to the Mayor and Municipal Council after review and approval by the
Municipal Solicitor.
A.
Any licensee failing, neglecting or refusing to comply with any of
the above provisions of this chapter shall be fined a sum of $300
for the first offense, plus costs, and shall have his/her license
suspended for a period of 10 days. This suspension shall be mandatory.
B.
Every day that a violation continues shall be a separate violation.
Each violation shall result in an additional ten-day suspension.
C.
Any licensee failing, neglecting or refusing to comply with any of
the above provisions of this chapter shall be fined a sum of $500
for the second offense, plus costs, and shall have his/her license
suspended for a period of 15 days. This suspension shall be mandatory.
D.
Any licensee failing, neglecting or refusing to comply with any of
the above provisions of this chapter shall be fined a sum of $1,000
for the third and subsequent offenses in a three-hundred-sixty-five-day
period, plus costs, and shall have his/her license suspended for a
period of 30 days. This suspension shall be mandatory.
E.
Any person, firm or corporation who or which shall violate this chapter
shall be subject to the fines imposed herein. Failure to pay the assessed
fine within 10 days shall subject the violator to arrest by the Municipality
of Kingston Police Department, or any other lawful law enforcement
officer, prosecution in proceedings before the District Justice in
the jurisdiction of the Municipality of Kingston, and, upon conviction
thereof, shall be deemed guilty of an offense and shall be subject
to the penalties set forth herein.
