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Home My WebLink AboutOrdinance 5767ORDINANCE NO. 5767 AN ORDINANCE AMENDING § 116.02 DOOR TO DOOR SOLICITATION AT PRIVATE RESIDENCES (D)(4) OF THE FAYETTEVILLE CODE IN ORDER TO PROVIDE AN IMPROVED AND EXPEDITED BACKGROUND CHECK PROCESS FOR APPLICANTS AND TO DECLARE AN EMERGENCY WHEREAS, the City of Fayetteville requires permits and Arkansas State Police background checks for all door to door solicitors operating within the city limits; and WHEREAS, the current background check process can take an inordinate amount of time to receive results and is not nationally comprehensive. NOW THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FAYETTEVILLE, ARKANSAS: Section 1: That the City Council of the City of Fayetteville, Arkansas hereby amends § 116.02 (D)(4) of the Fayetteville Code by repealing the existing language and replacing it with the following subsections (4) and (5) that an applicant must supply to the City as part of the permit process: "(4) A statewide criminal background check and a nationwide crime index/background check, including sex offender registry, which shows that a peddler or solicitor has not, within the preceding five years, been convicted of any felonies, or any misdemeanors involving theft, sexual offense or violence, nor has been incarcerated in prison at any time during the last five years. No person shall be issued a permit as a peddler or solicitor that has been convicted of any of the offenses set out above nor in prison during the last five years. (5) For international students or other persons without United States Citizenship and working with a valid visa or other government -issued identification, a copy of the visa or other valid documentation and a nationwide crime index/background check meeting the criteria in subsection (4) above shall be submitted." Page 2 Ordinance No. 5767 Section 2: Emergency Clause. That the City Council of the City of Fayetteville, Arkansas, in an effort to expand the criminal background check for door to door solicitors nationwide and better ensure the protection and safety of Fayetteville citizens, hereby declares this ordinance, being necessary to preserve the public welfare and safety, must be effective immediately, and therefore declares an emergency exists so that this ordinance shall be in full force and effect from the date of its passage and approval. PASSED and APPROVED this 5h day of May, 2015. W ATTEST: By: Or SONDRA E. SMITH, City Clerk Treasurer o�,�q�»rrrrrrej� FAYETTEVILI_� ,e 6 City of Fayetteville, Arkansas 113 West Mountain Street Fayetteville, AR 72701 (479) 575-8323 Text File File Number: 2015-0204 Agenda Date: 5/5/2015 Version: 1 Status: Passed In Control: City Council File Type: Ordinance Agenda Number: C. 3 AMEND §116.02 DOOR TO DOOR SOLICITATION AN ORDINANCE AMENDING §116.02 DOOR TO DOOR SOLICITATION AT PRIVATE RESIDENCES (D)(4) OF THE FAYETTEVILLE CODE IN ORDER TO PROVIDE AN IMPROVED AND EXPEDITED BACKGROUND CHECK PROCESS FOR APPLICANTS AND TO DECLARE AN EMERGENCY WHEREAS, the City of Fayetteville requires permits and Arkansas State Police background checks for all door to door solicitors operating within the city limits; and WHEREAS, the current background check process can take an inordinate amount of time to receive results and is not nationally comprehensive. NOW THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FAYETTEVILLE, ARKANSAS: Section 1: That the City Council of the City of Fayetteville, Arkansas hereby amends § 116.02 (D)(4) of the Fayetteville Code by repealing the existing language and replacing it with the following subsections (4) and (5) that an applicant must supply to the City as part of the permit process: "(4) A statewide criminal background check and a nationwide crime index/background check, including sex offender registry, which shows that a peddler or solicitor has not, within the preceding five years, been convicted of any felonies, or any misdemeanors involving theft, sexual offense or violence, nor has been incarcerated in prison at any time during the last five years. No person shall be issued a permit as a peddler or solicitor that has been convicted of any of the offenses set out above nor in prison during the last five years. (5) For international students or other persons without United States Citizenship and working with a valid visa or other government -issued identification, a copy of the visa or other valid documentation and a nationwide crime index/background check meeting the criteria in subsection (4) above shall be submitted." Section 2: Emergency Clause. That the City Council of the City of Fayetteville, Arkansas, in an effort to expand the criminal background check for door to door sollicitors nationwide and better ensure the protection and safety of Fayetteville citizens, hereby declares this ordinance, being necessary to preserve the public welfare and safety, must be effective immediately, and therefore declares an emergency exists so that this ordinance shall be in full force and effect from the date of its passage and approval. City of Fayetteville, Arkansas Page 1 Printed on 5/612015 City of Fayetteville Staff Review Form 2015-0204 Legistar File ID 5/5/2015 City Council Meeting Date - Agenda Item Only N/A for Non -Agenda Item Jeremy Pate 4/17/2015 Development Services / Development Services Department Submitted By Submitted Date Division / Department Action Recommendation: Approval of an ordinance amending the Fayetteville Code of Ordinances, Title XI Business Regulations, Chapter 116 Door to Door Solicitation, in order to provide an improved and expedited background check process for applicants. Budget Impact: Account Number Fund Project Number Project Title Budgeted Item? NA Current Budget $ - Funds Obligated $ - Current Balance �— Does item have a cost? No Item Cost Budget Adjustment Attached? NA Budget Adjustment Remaining Budget $ V20140710 Previous Ordinance or Resolution # Original Contract Number: Approval Date: Comments: CITY OF Ta�T• 11 e eY 1 le CITY COUNCIL AGENDA MEMO ARKANSAS MEETING OF MAY 05, 2015 TO: Mayor Jordan, Fayetteville City Council THRU: Don Marr, Chief of Staff FROM: Jeremy Pate, Development Services Director DATE: April 14, 2015 SUBJECT: Door to Door Solicitor Ordinance — Background Checks RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends approval of an ordinance amending the Fayetteville Code of Ordinances, Title XI Business Regulations, Chapter 116 Door to Door Solicitation, in order to provide an improved and expedited background check process for applicants. BACKGROUND: In 2013, the City Council passed an ordinance (No. 5593) sponsored by Alderman Tennant that created an annual permit process for door to door solicitors/peddlers. The ordinance requires a principal permit for the business or company performing the solicitation of a service or product sales, and each individual person acting as a door to door solicitor must also register with the City, providing a background check, identification and other documentation. Both the Chamber of Commerce and City were contacted last summer and the City again this spring by local businesses concerned in their attempts to obtain a solicitation permit in a time - efficient manner. Many employed as door to door solicitors are college -aged students working during the summer months, and a quick turn -around is important for both the employer and the potential employee. The ordinance currently requires in §116.02(D)(4) a criminal background check "from the Arkansas State Police" and if the applicant's driver's license is from another state, we also require one from that state's State Police. Staff sees a few issues with this requirement that we propose to change: 1) It takes 2-3 weeks for the Arkansas State Police to process and get a background check back to an applicant, at a minimum. Alternatively, local companies that conduct formal background checks can turn around the same background check in roughly 24 hours, using the same database. However, these companies go through the State Court Administrator's online database system, instead of through the State Police. I spoke with Courthouse Concepts, a local business that the City utilizes for background checks, and they indicated they are using the same exact information. They rarely go through the State Police office, because of the time it takes. Changing the ordinance language to simply require a„ statewide background check I believe would resolve this issue and provide the same level of confidence in the validity of the background check. Two to three weeks can be a long time for a college student working through the summer, and Mailing Address: 113 W. Mountain Street www.fayetteville-ar.gov Fayetteville, AR 72701 on more than one occasion a business has lost potential good summer employees because they needed to be making money and instead moved on to another job. 2) Someone from out of state also requires a background check in the state that issued their driver's license. Presumably this is to ensure that the out-of-state solicitor does not have any legal issues that could pose a threat to our citizens in their door-to-door solicitation. However, if that person committed a felony, sexual assault, misdemeanor involving theft or other crime that would disqualify them from obtaining a Fayetteville permit and it happened in an entirely different state, the City of Fayetteville would never catch it because we only check the current license of the state in which it was issued. I would recommend that instead we change the language to require a "nationwide crime index/background check", so that each person's name is run through a nationwide search, including the sex offender registry. This is a safety issue for our citizens. Again, Courthouse Concepts often conducts these types of searches. They report it takes a minimal amount of time and is much more inclusive than just checking the state where a driver's license is issued. 3) Finally, several of the solicitation permits we have seen are from international students in Fayetteville on a student visa. They cannot get a background check, because they don't have a state -issued id. Rather, we should address this with the nationwide background check and/or copy of a valid visa, which can be verified to reflect if any crimes have been committed by the individual. DISCUSSION: Staff has discussed this proposal with Alderman Tennant, the original sponsor of Ord. No. 5593, and he indicated he was supportive of us bringing it forward for consideration. Staff would also request that if appropriate and legal, an emergency clause be enacted for the ordinance to go into effect immediately, as it positively impacts the safety and well-being of our citizens in the coming spring/summer solicitation season by achieving a more comprehensive background check on door to door solicitors that will be knocking on doors and speaking with citizens throughout our community. BUDGET/STAFF IMPACT: N/A