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HomeMy WebLinkAboutORD 06-027 ORDINANCE NO. 06-027 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BEAUMONT, TEXAS REQUIRING ELECTRONIC RECORDKEEPING OF PAWN SHOPS AND PAWNBROKERS DOING BUSINESS IN THE CITY OF BEAUMONT; PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY; PROVIDING FOR REPEAL AND PROVIDING A PENALTY. WHEREAS, the recovery of stolen personal property is rendered more difficult by the fact that such property is, by nature, easily disposed of, sold or traded by the persons responsible for such thefts, and by the fact that such items do not generally require proof of ownership in order to dispose of, sell or trade them; and, WHEREAS, pawn shops and pawnbrokers are often the method chosen by thieves to dispose of stolen personal property despite the best efforts of the owners and operators of such pawn shops and pawnbrokers to avoid the purchase of stolen property; and, WHEREAS,the Police Department of the City of Beaumont is currently participating in a service designed to assist the Department in the location and recovery of stolen personal property so that the property may be returned to its rightful owner and the offenders apprehended; and, WHEREAS, the City Council has determined that it is in the best interest of the citizens of the City to require all pawn shops and pawnbrokers to participate in this service by uploading a list of all property purchased, received or otherwise acquired by such pawn brokers and pawn shops, along with all identifying information for the property such as serial numbers, model numbers, etc. to leadsonline, which is the service currently used by the Police Department. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BEAUMONT: SECTION 1. That any and all pawn shops and pawnbrokers doing business within the City of Beaumont shall, beginning on the effective date of this ordinance, registerwith leadsonline at www.leadsonline.com and shall upload on at least a daily basis, all information relating to personal property purchased, received or otherwise acquired by such pawn shop or pawnbroker to the database maintained by leadsonline. SECTION 2. That there shall be no direct cost to the pawn shop or pawn broker associated with registration with leadsonline or with the uploading of the information required by this ordinance, other than the cost of computers and internet service. SECTION 3. That all costs charged for the use of the leadsonline service shall be borne by the Police Department of the City of Beaumont from its current budget. SECTION 4. It shall be a defense to compliance with this ordinance if the pawn shop or pawnbroker is able to prove that a power failure or a computer system malfunction prohibited timely entry of the required data into leadsonline and the pawn shop or pawnbroker promptly uploaded the required data within 24 hours of computer system restoration. Should a pawn shop or pawnbroker fail to maintain an operable computer system so as to prohibit the pawnshop or pawn broker from complying with this ordinance, then the pawn shop or pawnbroker may be cited for failure to comply with this ordinance. SECTION 5. That the failure of any pawn shop or pawnbroker to strictly comply with the provisions of this ordinance shall be deemed a misdemeanor and shall be punishable by a fine not to exceed five hundred dollars ($500.00) per violation. A separate offense shall be deemed committed upon each day during or on which a violation occurs or continues. SECTION 6. That if any section, subsection, sentence, clause or phrase of this ordinance, or the application of same to a particular set of persons or circumstances should for any reason be held to be invalid, such invalidity shall not affect the remaining portions of this ordinance, and to such end the various portions and provisions of this ordinance are declared to be severable. SECTION 7. That all ordinances or resolutions which are inconsistent with the provisions of this Ordinance are hereby repealed to the extent of the conflict only. PASSED BY THE CITY COUNCIL of the City of Beaumont this the 9th day of May, 2006. - Mayor Guy N. Goodson -