Martinsville council debates peddlers and solicitors ordinance; votes to table revisions

Council members on Nov. 10 reviewed a proposed replacement to Martinsville's peddler, solicitor and transient merchant ordinance and agreed to return it with revisions, including added penalty language and clarity on group registrations.

Councilman Miller and Councilman Badger presented the draft, which would require peddlers to register with the police department, undergo background checks, be issued an ID tag and pay fees the presenters described as "$40 for a 10 day license or a $150 for 120 day license." Council members discussed whether the background checks apply to individuals only or to groups, whether the police or the Clerk-Treasurer should administer licensing, and whether the penalty for violating the ordinance should be higher than the license fee.

Chief Lang said the police can run local background checks and that a downtown vendor check runs about $15; he noted more comprehensive checks are available downtown for higher fees. Council members suggested the draft include explicit penalty language and considered whether group pricing should be added. Clerk-Treasurer Mister Coffey described the administrative process, saying the current ordinance issues licenses through the Clerk-Treasurer but gives little enforcement teeth; members agreed the draft has "a lot more teeth than our $10" fee and that adding a penalty would make the ordinance effective.

Councilman Miller moved to table the draft until the authors and staff could revise it to include penalties and any group price structure; members agreed to bring a revised draft and the current ordinance text to the next meeting for comparison.