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Sunbury staff propose raising solicitation permit fee to $75; discuss exemptions and sign enforcement
Summary
Committee members reviewed a proposal to increase the annual door‑to‑door solicitation permit from $25 to $75, discussed limiting the number of solicitors per application, exemptions for nonprofit groups and Girl Scouts, and possible enforcement for temporary signs left after events.
The Sunbury Finance Committee discussed proposed updates to the city's solicitation permit fee and enforcement of temporary sign rules at its March 2025 meeting.
Staff told the committee that the current codified solicitation fee is $25 per year and management has proposed increasing it to $75 to cover background checks, police review and administrative processing. “This is simply updating and increasing that fee to $75,” a city staff member said. The proposed permit remains intended for door‑to‑door commercial solicitation; staff said they are reviewing whether and how to exclude nonprofit and school groups such as Girl Scouts from the fee in the ordinance language.
Why it matters: the fee change would alter the cost for companies and individuals who solicit door‑to‑door in Sunbury and could produce different enforcement practices. Staff described current permit mechanics: background checks performed by the police department, a signed permit document solicitors are supposed to carry while soliciting, and an internal proposal to limit each application to two solicitors. Staff noted the draft does not yet limit the number of applications a single company can submit and said they will refine the program to avoid unlimited crews from one company soliciting under multiple applications.
Committee members asked about nonprofit exemptions; staff said older ordinance language previously contained exemptions for school groups and similar organizations and the revised draft will explicitly address that practice. Staff also discussed adding a visible permit tag for solicitors so residents can confirm a person has an approved permit; they suggested posting information and images on the city website or social channels so residents know what a valid permit looks like.
The committee also discussed temporary/yard sign enforcement. Staff proposed a cleanup and enforcement approach for event signs left in public-rights-of-way after an event: register signs when placed and impose a $50 fine if signs are not removed within a set number of days after the event. Staff noted the zoning ordinance already contains temporary-sign standards (staff said the standard is typically 30 days after an event) and will prepare a one‑page briefing on temporary-sign rules and an enforcement proposal for council review.
Staff will refine the solicitation permit draft to clarify nonprofit exemptions, limit the number of solicitors per application, and address permit tagging and signage enforcement. The revised draft will be returned to council for formal consideration; no fee ordinance was enacted at the Finance Committee meeting.
