OSWEGO, NY – At this week’s Planning and Development Committee meeting, Kevin Caraccioli, city attorney, requested a discussion regarding proposed Local Law #3 of 2016 regarding Chapter 176, Pawn Brokers.
“This is a law we’ve all considered at one time or another, at least the councilors who here before. It’s something the county has thought about taxing, but hasn’t,” Mayor Billy Barlow said.
Thieves break into vehicles, steal electronics and other things and then try to sell them, he pointed out.
“What this does is give the police department a tool. They can go down to the local pawn shops and try to track down the stolen items. It requires a store to hold an item for a certain period of time. It requires the store to document the item that they have,” the mayor said.
He added that it is probably easier for thieves to come to Oswego (from communities that already have this type of law) and sell things.
“So we want to prevent that,” he said. “We’re asking our store owners to be a little more responsible and care about what items are passing through their hands. And to give city police the opportunity to recover stolen items and return them back to their owners.”
“What we’re asking for tonight is for the council to establish a public hearing so there will be full opportunity for the public to weigh in on it,” explained Caraccioli. Copies of the proposed law will be available for view, he added.
There is a record keeping requirement that is imposed under the law.
The proposal defines who is “a second hand dealer,” what constitutes second hand articles and other pertinent details.
It would also provide police with a time frame in which to investigate a report of stolen property.
“This would mandate that those shop owners maintain an inventory if they’re not doing it already. And, frankly, in our research, we found that many of them already are,” the attorney said. “This is not infringing on anyone’s rights. This is simply regulating the sale and exchange of second hand items.”
The law would not affect people who have garage sales or participate in flea markets, he said.
There is a permit fee and application process associated with the law.
“It is an annual permit and we are imposing through the adoption of this local law a permit of $250 per year and that is to help defray some of the expenses that the city incurs in investigating charges of stolen property,” Caraccioli said. “So there is a cost for implementing this legislation. But, we believe it is an appropriate cost.”
The committee gave a favorable recommendation to the proposal.
If approved by the full council, the public hearing would be set for 7:10 p.m. May 9 in the Council Chamber at City Hall, 13 W. Oneida St.
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I am confused about the explanation given about having Pawn Brokers pay for a permit, let alone $250. per year for the Police to investigate charges of stolen property. Is that not what the Police already do. This “Law ” is a great thing but it sound like the City is just trying to get more money from small business owners for which seems like something that will take more extra work for the Business Owner not the City. I am not a business owner but I do care about what businesses are still left here is Oswego.
The $250 seems to be a money grab. It seems any extra work would be done by the store owner. It would actually save the police time by giving them good leads.
Scrap the $250.
as a small business owner…we already go out of our way to keep good records when buying items to help the police….we also are aware the selling problem and we are very careful who we buy from …which i am very picky what i buy …as for $250 fee ..i think its b.s…i pay my taxes like everybody else to cover the the police officers paycheck ..so i should double pay for them to do the job they should be doing in the first place
We keep very good records with photo ID for anyone selling anything. People who steal do not come into a pawn shop and sign their name to it. They should focus more on the drug problem in this city. That is why there is so much crime. Addicts break into vehicles and homes to get what they can and sell it on the streets or to their dealer. They do not come in and sign their name to it. Ask the police department how many times a year they confiscate merchandise. You will find out it is only a couple of times. And as far as the fee is concerned why should they only charge a fee to our business. Why isn’t there a fee to cut hair, make candy, sell insurance, serve food, do tattoos, sell smoking paraphernalia, etc. And I already pay plenty to the city in taxes, we don’t get any other benefits we should atleast get the work out of the police department without having to pay extra. They are targeting the wrong people is they want to stop crime.