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HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrdinance 5928 C - Go ORDINANCE NO. ' .� AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 32 OF THE FORT WORTH CITY CODE (1964) , BEING A CHAPTER REGULATING SOLICI- TATIONS FOR CHARITABLE, PATRIOTIC, EDUCATIONAL OR PHILANTHROPIC PURPOSES IN THE CITY OF FORT WORTH; PROVIDING FOR THE CREATION AND OPERATION OF A CHAR- ITABLE SOLICITATIONS COMMISSION; REQUIRING A PERMIT TO CONDUCT CHARITABLE SOLICITATIONS ON ANY PUBLIC STREET, IN ANY PUBLIC PLACE OR BY HOUSE TO HOUSE CANVASS ; PROVIDING DUE NOTICE AND HEARING; EXEMPT- ING CHURCHES AND RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS ; PROVIDING FOR THE FILING OF AN APPLICATION FOR A CHARITABLE SOLICITATIONS PERMIT; LIMITING FUND RAISING EXPENSE TO TWENTY--FIVE PER CENT OF THE AMOUNT COLLECTED; PRO- VIDING THAT THE PERMIT SHALL BE ISSUED UNLESS THE APPLICANT FAILS TO MEET PRESCRIBED STANDARDS LIMIT- ING PERMIT TO THREE MONTHS ; MAKING PERMITS NONTRANS- FERABLE; PROVIDING STANDARDS FOR REVOCATION OF PER- MITS ; PROVIDING FOR APPEAL DE NOVO TO THE CITY COUN- CIL; REQUIRING FINANCIAL AND ACCOUNTING REPORTS FROM PERMIT HOLDERS; PROVIDING ACCOUNTING STANDARDS ; MAKING THIS ORDINANCE CUMULATIVE OF PRIOR ORDINANCES ; REPEALING ALL ORDINANCES AND PROVISIONS OF THE FORT WORTH CITY CODE IN CONFLICT HEREWITH; PROVIDING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE; PROVIDING A PENALTY; AND PROVID- ING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY- COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT ,WORTH, TEXAS : SECTION 1. That Chapter 32 ofthe Fort Worth City Code (1964) is hereby amended and, after being so amended, same shall read as follows : Sec. 32-1. Charitable Solicitations Commis- sion -- Created; Composition, - term of members. There' is hereby created for the administra- tion of this ordinance' a Charitable Solicitations Commission which shall be composed of seven mem- bers who shall serve without remuneration .for their services and who shall be appointed by the City Council. Each member of the Commission shall hold office for a term of three years or until his successor is appointed and confirmed. Members of the present Charitable Solicitations Commission shall continue to hold their office on such Commission until the expiration of the respective terms for which they were appointed. r - • r 6 • Sec . ,32-2 . Same -= Internal organization; duties . The Commission shall elect a Chairman and a Vice-Chairman from its members and shall adopt rules and regulations for the conduct of its business . The City Secretary or his delegate shall serve as Secretary of the Commission. Four members of the Commission, exclusive of the Secre- taky, shall constitute a quorum for the transac- tion of business . No application for a permit to conduct a charitable solicitations campaign on the streets and in public places in the City of Fort Worth, Texas , shall be either granted or refused without due notice and hearing . No hear- ing on any such application shall be held unless and until the applicant shall have been given at least ten days notice in writing of the date, time, place and purpose of such hearing . All parties testifying at such hearing shall be placed under oath by the Chairman or the Secretary of the Commission. In general, the rules of evidence in force in the district and county courts in the State of Texas shall be followed. Each party at such hearing shall be given full opportunity to present evidence and witnesses to support his con- tentions and he shall have the right of cross- examination of all other witnesses . No ex parte testimony given by witnesses not under oath and not subject to cross-examination by other parties shall be admitted or considered by the Commission. The findings of the Commission must confcrm to the evidence adduced at the hearing. Each ruling of the Commission Aust be supported by adequate factual findings based upon the evidence . Sec . 32-3 . Permit -- Required . As used in this chapter, the term "charitable solicitations campaign" shall mean any course of conduct whereby any person, organization, society, association, corporation or any agent, member or representative thereof shall solicit property or financial assistance of any kind or sell or offer to sell any .article, tag, service, emblem, publica- tion, ticket, advertisement, subscription or any thing of value on the plea or representation that such sale or solicitation or the proceeds therefrom are for a charitable, educational, patriotic or philanthropic purpose . It shall be unlawful to conduct any charitable solicitations campaign on the streets or in any public place or by house to house canvass in the City of Fort Worth unless the person, organization, society, association or cor- poration conducting same and responsible therefor shall first have obtained a permit in compliance with the terms of this chapter; provided, however, that the provisions hereof shall not apply to: -2- p (a) Any church, congregation, religious society, sect, group or order which solicits funds for religious purposes ; or (b) Any organization which solicits funds solely from its own members or from its own assemblies not using public streets or public places for such purposes . Sec. 32-4. Same -- Application; information to be contained. A permit to conduct a charitable solicitations campaign on the streets or in, any public place or by house to house canvass in the City of Fort Worth shall be granted only after notice and hear- ing upon an application for such permit filed in triplicate with the City Secretary-not less than forty-five days prior to the initiation of the proposed charitable solicitations campaign and not less than ten days prior to the date of the hearing . Such application shall be sworn to by the applicant and shall contain the following -in- formation: (a) The full name of the organization applying for a permit to solicit and the address of the headquarters in the city; if the organization is a chapter or other affiliate of an organization having its principal office outside the city, the name and address of the parent organization. (b) The names and addresses of all officers and directors or trustees of the organization and the name and city of residence of all. officers , directors or trustees of the parent organization, if any. (c) The purpose or purposes for which the gross receipts derived from such solicitations or other activities are to be used . (d) The name of the person or persons by whom the receipts of , such solicitation shall be dis- bursed; if the receipts are transmitted to a parent organization for further disbursement, detailed in- formation on the methods of handling and disburse- ment of all funds and a detailed and complete finan- cial statement of the parent organization for the last preceding fiscal year . (e) The name and address of the person or per- sons who will ble in charge of conducting the chari- table solicitations campaign. -3- (f) An outline of the method or methods to be used in conducting the charitable solicitations campaign.- (g) ampaign.(g) The period within which such charitable solicitations campaign shall be conducted, includ- ing the proposed dates for the beginning and end- ing of such campaign. (h) The total amount of funds proposed to be raised. (i) The amount of all salaries , wages, fees, commissions, expenses and costs to be expended or paid to anyone in connection with such campaign, together with the manner in which such wages , fees , commissions , expenses and costs are to be expended, and the maximum percentage of funds collected which are to be used to pay such expenses of solicitation and collection. (j) The names of all officers , directors or trustees present when the decisions were made in reference- to subsections (h) and (i) above. (k) A detailed and complete statement of the funds (if any) collected by the applicant during the preceding year from solicitations or other activities described in Sec . 32-3, which were the same or substantially the same as those for which the applicant is seeking a permit, such statement to show the gross amount collected, all costs of collection or solicitation, and the final distribu- tion thereof. (1) A full statement of the character and ex- tent of the charitable, educational, patriotic or philanthropic work done by the applicant within the city during the last preceding year. (m) If the applicant is a corporation, a copy of its charter or articles of incorporation from its state of incorporation; if the applicant is a foreign corporation, a copy of its certificate to do business in Texas . (n) If the applicant is a charitable corpora- tion or other organization, proof of its current status as an organization to which contributions are tax deductible for federal income tax purposes . Sec. '32-5 . Same -- Notice of hearing; conditions of approval; certification to City Secretary. Upon receipt of a proper application as pro- -4- vided in Sec. 32-4, the City Secretary shall set a time and place for hearing of said application, and such time for hearing shall be at least ten days after the date on which the application is received. The City Secretary shall notify the applicant of the time and place set for hearing . In the absence of notice acknowledged by, the appli- cant, the City Secretary shall give written notice to the applicant by depositing same in the United States mail in a sealed envelope with sufficient postage attached, addressed to applicant at , the address shown on the application. Such mailed written notice shall be sufficient if deposited in the United States mail at least ten days prior to the date of the. hearing . At the conclusion of the hearing on any such application, the Charitable Solicitations Commission shall authorize and direct the City Secretary to issue the permit applied for unless the Commission finds from a preponderance of the credible evidence adduced at such hearing that: (a) One or more of the statements made in the application are not true . (b) The applicant or person in charge of the charitable solicitations campaign has been convicted in a court of competent jurisdiction of a crime in- volving moral turpitude, or that the applicant or such person has made or caused to be made false statements or misrepresentations to any member of the public with regard to the charitable solicita- tions campaign or other activities described in the permit, or has made or caused to be made false statements or misrepresentations in the application or at the hearing on the application, or has in any way publicly represented that the permit granted hereunder is an endorsement or recommendation of the cause for which the charitable solicitations campaign is being conducted or has otherwise violated any of the terms of the permit or this chapter. (c) The applicant ' s fund-raising expense in any charitable solicitations campaign conducted by it during any of the three years immediately preceding the date of application exceeded twenty-five per . cent (25%) of the gross amount collected. (d) The expected fund-raising expense of appli- cant in the charitable solicitations campaign which application for permit is being made will exceed twenty-five per cent (25/) of the gross amount col- lected based upon accounting data concerning prior campaigns of the applicant and such other evidence as may be adduced at the hearing . -5- (e) Applicant has failed to keep or observe any promise, agreement, representation or commit- ment with regard to the allocation of funds or methods of fund-raising or solicitation made to the Charitable Solicitations Commission in con- nection with any previous application . Sec. 32-6. Same -- Issuance . Upon receipt of written authorization and direction from the Charitable Solicitations Com- mission as provided in Sec. 32-5 or upon ,notifica- tion of action by the City Council of the City of Fort Worth in connection with any appeal from a decision of the Charitable Solicitations Commission as provided in Sec. 32-10 , the City Secretary ,shall issue a permit .to conduct a charitable solicita- tions campaign for the period and in the manner au= thorized by the Charitable Solicitations Commission or the City Council . Sec. 32-7 . Same -- Duration . The Charitable 'Solicitations Commission shall determine from the application and from a preponder- ance of the credible evidence adduced at the hearing , the period during which the applicant shall be per- mitted to conduct its charitable solicitations cam- paign,- - provided, am- paign; provided, however, that such ,period shall not exceed three calendar months . Any extension of such period shall be granted only upon the filing of an application and after notice and hearing of the same kind and character as is required for the original permit. Sec. 32-8 . Same -- Nontransferable . Any permit issued hereunder shall be personal to the applicant and shall not be assigned or trans- ferred to any other person, firm, corporation or association. Any such attempted assignment or trans- fer shall render the permit void. However, nothing in this section shall prohibit a permittee from' us- ing the number of solicitors and representatives specified in the permit . Sec . 32-9 . ' Same -- Revocation. If, after notice and hearing, the Charitable Solicitations Commission shall determine and make findings of fact that any permit holder or any agent or representative of a permit holder is making or has made any false statements or misrepresenta- tions to any member of the public with regard to the campaign of solicitations or other activities -6- described in the permit, or has made false state- ments or misrepresentations in the application or at the hearing on the application, or has, in any way publicly represented that the permit granted hereunder is an endorsement or recommenda- tion of the cause for which the charitable solici- a tations campaign is being conducted, or has vio- lated any of the terms of the permit or has other- wise violated the provisions of this chapter, then it shall be the duty of the Charitable Solicita- tions Commission to revoke the permit; provided, however, that the permit holder shall be given at least twenty-four hours written notice that a hear- ing on the revocation is to be held, and provided further that such hearing . on the revocation shall be conducted under the same rules as the hearing on the application. Sec. 32-10 . Same -- Appeal from decisions of Charitable Solicitations Commission. Every applicant shall have the right to appeal to the City Council from any adverse decision or ruling of the Charitable Solicitations Commission. Such appeal, if taken, must be in writing addressed to the City Council and filed with the City Secre- tary within ten days after the date of the decision or ruling appealed from. The City Council shall hold an open public hearing on such appeal at either a regular or special meeting of that body after furnishing notice of such hearing to the applicant and appellant, as provided in Sec. 32-5 for the original hearing. The appeal shall be de novo, and the hearing shall be conducted by the City Coun- cil in accordance with the same .rules as are pre- scribed for the hearing before the Charitable Solici- tations Commission . Sec. 32-11. Same -- Reports to be filed. All persons or organizations issued permits under this chapter shall furnish to the Commission, within thirty days after the charitable solicita- tions campaign has been completed, a detailed report and financial statement showing the amount of funds raised by the charitable solicitations campaign, the amount: expended in collecting such funds, including a detailed .report of the wages, fees, commissions and expenses paid to any person in connection with such solicitation, and the disposition of the balance of the funds. collected by the campaign; provided,_ however, that the Commission may extend the time for filing of the report required by this section for -an -7- additional period of thirty days upon proof that the filing of the report within the time specified will work unnecessary hardship on -the permit holder. The permit holder shall make available to the Com- mission, or to any person designated in writing by the Commission as its representative for such purpose, all books, records and papers whereby the accuracy of the report required. by this section may be investigated. All financial statements and reports and all applications submitted by any applicant or permit holder hereunder, and all determinations, findings and rulings involving accounting procedures made by either the Charitable Solicitations Commission or the City Council shall be prepared, made and interpreted in accordance with the accounting standards and practices set out in Standards of Accounting and Financial Reportinq for Voluntary Health and Welfare Organizations , copyright 1964, National Health Council, National Social Welfare Assembly, which is incorporated herein by reference and a copy of which shall be maintained on file in the Office of the City Secretary .of the City of Fort Worth. Sec. 32-12 . Agents and solicitors for charitable . solicitation permit holders . All persons to whom permits have been issued under this chapter shall furnish proper credentials to their agents and solicitors for such charitable solicitations campaign. Such credentialsshall include the name of the permit holder, the date, a statement describing the holder ' s charitable , educational, patriotic or philanthropic activit' , , a description of the purpose of the . 30licitation, the signature of the permit holder or of the holder' s chief executive officer, and the name, address , age,'•-sex, and signature of the solicitor to whom such credentials are issued and the specific period of time during which the solicitor is authorized to solicit on behalf of the permit holder. No per- son shall solicit under any permit granted under this chapter without the credentials required by this section and a facsimile copy of the permit in his possession. The credentials and facsimile copy of the permit shall be shown, upon request, to all persons solicited and to any police officer of the c ity'. No agent or solicitor shall conduct or partici- pate in any charitable solicitations campaign ex- cept under a valid permit issued in compliance with this chapter. -8- Sec. 32-13 . Responsibility for acts of solicitors . The recipient of a permit for a charitable solicitations campaign shall be responsible for the acts of his authorized representatives in connection with such campaign. Sec. 32-14 . Public inspection of records . All applic4tions , all records of hearing, all permits or rulings of either the Charitable So- licitations Commission or the City Council, and all instruments filed in connection with any ap- plication or hearing shall be public records . I Sec. 32-15 . Chapter enacted as governmental function. All of the regulations provided for in this chapter are hereby declared to be governmental and for the benefit of the general public. Any member of the City Council, the Charitable Solicitations Commission, any city official or employee, or any person charged with the enforcement of this chapter, acting for the city in the discharge of his duties , shall not thereby render himself_ personally liable, and he is hereby relieved from all personal lia- bility for any damage that may accrue to persons or property as a result of any act required or per- mitted in the discharge of his duties . Any ,suit brought against any such official or employee be cause of such act performed by him in the enforce- ` ment of any provision of this chapter shall be defended by the Department of Law until the final adjudication of the proceedings . Sec. 32-16. Certain methods of solicitation prohibited. The following methods of solicitation are and shall be prohibited within the city: (a) Solicitations by telephone by persons employed and paid primarily for that purpose . (b) Solicitation by means of coin or currency boxes or receptacles , except (1) When each such box or receptable is serially numbered and the Com- mission advised of the number and location -of each; and (2) When each such box or receptacle -9- is the- responsibility of a bona fide member, agent or solicitor of the soliciting organization; and (3) When such responsible person is required to pick up each box' or receptacle at the end of the solic- itation period; and a (4) When the use of such boxes and re- ceptacles in the solicitation is expressly authorized by the Commis- sion; and (5) When such responsible person has no more than a reasonable number of ' such boxes or receptacles for which he must account. SECTION 2 . That this ordinance shall be cumulative of all pro- visions of the Code of the City of Fort Worth, 1964, with respect to regulating the use of public streets and public places for charitable solicitations except in those instances where the provisions of this ordinance are in direct conflict with the provisions of such Code, in which instances said con- flicting provisions of such Code are hereby repealed. SECTION 3 . That if any section, part of a section or provision of any section of this ordinance shall be held to be void, in- effective or unconstitutional by a court of competent jurisdic- tion, the holding of such section, part of a section or pro- vision of any section to be void, ineffective or unconstitu- tional for any cause whatsoever shall in no way affect. the va- lidity of the remaining sections and provisions of this ordi- nance, which shall remain in full force and effect. The City Council would not have passed any sections , parts of sections -10- or provisions of any section of this ordinance that were un- constitutional, void or ineffective if it had known that they were unconstitutional, void or ineffective at the time - of adopting this ordinance. SECTION 4. That any person, firm or corporation violating any of the provisions of this ordinance shall be fined in any sum not to exceed Two Hundred Dollars ($200 .00) , and each day ' s violation thereof shall constitute a separate offense . SECTION 5 . That this ordinance shall become effective and, be in full force and effect from and after the date of its passage and publication as required by law, and it is so ordained. APPROV D AS TO FORNI AND LEGriLIT City Attorney Adopted by tj;e Cit Y Council Effective / %6 -11-