[HISTORY: Adopted by the City Council of the City of West
Haven 6-10-1996 by Ord. No. 357. Amendments noted where applicable.]
A.
No person, corporation or partnership shall engage in or carry on
the business of loaning money upon deposits or pledge of wearing apparel,
jewelry, ornaments, household goods or other personal property, or
of purchasing such property on condition of selling the same back
again at a stipulated price, unless such person, corporation or partnership
is first licensed as a pawnbroker.
B.
Loans on intangible property are excepted from this ordinance.
The granting of a license pursuant to this chapter is subject
to issuance of a special permit by the Planning and Zoning Commission
of the City of West Haven in accordance with the Land Use Regulations.
The issuance of a special permit is a condition precedent to the filing
of an application for a pawnbroker's license in accordance with
this ordinance.
The Chief of Police for the City of West Haven, with the approval
of a majority vote of the Police Commissioners, may grant licenses
to suitable persons to be pawnbrokers and to carry on the business
of lending money on the pledge of personal property, or of purchasing
such property on condition of selling it back again at a stipulated
price, and may revoke such licenses for cause. The person so licensed
shall pay a fee of $50 and $25 per year thereafter for renewal of
such license. At the time of receiving such license, the applicant
shall file a bond with competent surety in the sum of $2,000 and conditioned
for the faithful performance of the duties and obligations pertaining
to the business so licensed. Each license shall designate the place
where such business is to be carried on and shall continue for one
year unless sooner revoked. The issuance of such license is personal
and as such may not be assigned or delegated. Violations of this requirement
is grounds for revocation.
A.
Any license issued pursuant to this chapter shall remain on public
display at all times and shall be conspicuously placed and readily
accessible. Any holder of such license shall be at least 18 years
of age and shall not have been convicted of any criminal offense.
A current list of employees shall be provided to the Chief of Police
at least semi-annually, or upon reasonable demand. Such list shall
include employees' full name, address, date of birth, social
security number and home phone number.
B.
Each such pawnbroker or person carrying on such business of loaning
money or any other transaction, including but not limited to an exchange
of goods of equal, lessor or greater value, on the pledge of personal
property shall keep a book, to be furnished by the Chief of Police,
in which shall be written, in English, at the time such licensee receives
any article of personal property by way of pledge or pawn, a description
of such article, including serial number, the name and residence and
a general description of the person, including the means or method
of positive identification of such person from whom and the day and
hour when such property was received. Such book and the place where
such business is carried on and all articles of property therein may
be examined at all times by any police officer, acting in an official
capacity, and it shall be the responsibility of the licensee to maintain
said records, including each page within the book required to be maintained
pursuant to this section.
C.
Each such broker shall, at the time of making any loan on a pawn or pledge, deliver to the person who pawns or pledges any goods, article or thing a memorandum containing the entry required to be made in the pawnbrokers book by the provisions of Subsection B. No charge shall be made or required by any pawnbroker for such memorandum. A copy of such memorandum shall be kept on the premises at all times, and such memorandum is to be subject to examination pursuant to Section B of this section.
D.
Each such pawnbroker shall make weekly a sworn statement of his transactions,
describing the goods received and setting forth the name and residence
and description of the person from whom the goods are received, to
the Chief of Police's office each week on Monday, no later than
12:00 noon. Any such broker who willfully fails to make such report
required by this section shall be fined $100 for the first offense,
$200 for the second and for the third offense shall be fined not more
than $500 and shall also be subject to revocation of his or her license.
A business operating under a Pawnbrokers license shall post
the hours of operation in a conspicuous area. It shall be unlawful
for places operating under these licenses to operate before 8:00 a.m.
and after 8:00 p.m. The City of West Haven may, by a vote of the City
Council or by amendment of this ordinance, reduce the numbers of hours
during which a business under this section shall be conducted.
A.
No pawnbroker or loan broker or person who loans money on the pledge
of personal property shall take or receive, directly or indirectly,
for the use of money loaned on personal property, any more than the
following rates:
B.
Such rates shall be conspicuously displayed to the public at the
place of business of such licensee at all times.
No such lender shall sell or dispose of any personal property
left with him in pledge for the money loaned in less than six months
from the date when the same is left in pledge as aforesaid. All such
property shall be sold or disposed of at a public or private sale
only after advertisement in a newspaper having circulation within
the City of West Haven at least two days before the date of the sale
or sales, which advertisement shall state the numbers of the pledge
tickets representing the property offered for sale and the date or
dates when such tickets were issued. Such advertisement shall also
be provided to the Chief of Police.
A notice shall be prominently displayed at all times within
the licensed premises stating that no one under the age of 18 years
shall pawn or sell items. Items may be sold or pawned only by a natural
person who has proper identification that shall include a full face
photograph of such person.
Any person, corporation or partnership which engages in the
business of pawnbroker, unless licensed according to law, or after
notice that its license has been revoked, or which violates any of
the provisions of this ordinance, or neglects to keep a book in the
English language or to make the entries therein as provided by law,
or refuses to allow the same to be inspected by the proper officers,
or receives an article of personal property by way of pawn or pledge
from a minor, shall be fined not more than $50 for the
first offense and not more than $100 for the second offense, and for
the third offense shall be fined not more than $500. Any violation
of this ordinance may result in revocation of such license; such revocation
will require that all business conducted as a pawnbroker cease, pending
hearing by the Board of Police Commissioners within 10 days of said
revocation.
