TERRE HAUTE — One of the most intensely debated ordinances to come before the Terre Haute City Council in at least a year is set to make a repeat appearance next month.
The secondhand merchandise dealers ordinance, which passed the council in February by a 5-4 vote, is already facing a possible amendment. As currently written, the ordinance requires some secondhand merchandise and scrap metal dealers to report daily purchase information to local police over the Internet.
The ordinance is intended to make it easier for police to recover stolen property.
“This is kind of housekeeping,” said Councilman John Mullican, D-6th, who introduced the amendment, which will be discussed at the April “sunshine” meeting of the council set for April 8. It could be voted on at the April 15 regular meeting.
The amendment, if passed, would add “consignment stores and the booth operators therein” to the list of businesses specifically exempted from the ordinance. It would also allow scrap metal dealers, in their daily police reports, to use “industry standard” language to describe the scrap materials they buy.
“I’m just trying to narrow the focus [of the ordinance] and clean it up,” said Mullican, who voted against the ordinance in the February council meeting. Mullican was joined in opposing the ordinance by at-large councilmen Don Morris and George Azar as well as Council President Neil Garrison.
The consignment store language in the amendment is meant to exclude businesses such as Nancy’s Downtown Mall from the ordinance, Mullican said, adding he believes it was the intent of the council to exclude such shops in the original ordinance.
Mullican also believes the “industry standard” language included in the amendment was also part of the original intent of the council when it voted in favor of the new law.
Arthur Foulkes can be reached at (812) 231-4232 or arthur.foulkes@tribstar.com.
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