Following a wave of door-to-door salesmen and the complaints they generated in the past couple of weeks, the city’s Public Safety Committee is taking a look at the city’s ordinance and license requirement to better handle the situation.
At least two different groups of peddlers have swirled through Sweet Home in the past couple of weeks, one selling a cleaner and the other selling alarm systems.
One was arrested and charged last week for second-degree criminal trespass, failure to obtain a peddler’s license and possession of marijuana after a caller reported that he had become confrontational when told to leave and that he wanted to fight.
The Police Department received at least five complaints from May 10 to May 14.
“All we’re basically doing right now is looking at different ways of possibly improving the ordinance,” said Mayor Craig Fentiman. The committee is interested in seeing stricter enforcement with more background checking at licensing.
That’s one of the things Burford is pushing for, Fentiman said, and the mayor definitely wants to look at it and see if it’s an option.
“There is an existing city ordinance, of which almost every city has one, that requires peddlers and transient merchants to obtain a license to operate,” Burford said. “The main reason is so if there’s a problem, the city knows who they are.”
The license is free and generally provided with no waiting period at City Hall.
“By the time we find out the person may have a criminal record that may make them a potential threat to residents economically or physically, it’s too late,” Burford said.
The application also requires peddlers to disclose if they have been convicted of a crime in the last five years, Burford said. “If a person’s been convicted of fraud, it may be relative to them being able to do honest business in Sweet Home.”
Many never fill out the application for the permit, and still more do not fill out all of the questions, especially about convictions.
Their standard line when confronted by a police officer is that “my boss has got it in the van,” Burford said.
The next day or the day after, they’re likely to be in another city, he said.
The elderly and frail are especially vulnerable as they often allow the peddlers in to demonstrate their products, Burford said.
In one case, a peddler walked into a woman’s garage as she was getting into her car, Burford said. She felt threatened.
“She felt intimidated enough she bought his product,” Buford said. The price was $35 to $38, but she only had two $20 bills. He promised to return with her change, but he never did.
Burford believes the ordinance allows for a period of 48 hours before the city must make a decision on the license, Burford said. That’s the question he asked City Attorney Robert Snyder, who presented it to the Public Safety Committee on May 11.
With 48 hours, the city can check out people who want to sell in Sweet Home before they begin operating, Burford said. In an ideal ordinance, Burford would like to be able to say the city doesn’t want them here if they’ve been convicted of fraud, deceit or person crimes in the past decade.
The Public Safety Committee will look at other ordinances to get ideas about how to handle the concerns in Sweet Home during the coming months, Fentiman said.