(a) Prerequisites for license, bond, fee, and affidavit.
(1) Bond. There shall be filed with the city clerk at the time of filing an application for a license as a junk dealer, secondhand metal dealer, secondhand rag or paper dealer, or secondhand steel, pipe and fittings dealer, a bond executed on behalf of the City of Vernon by a surety corporation duly authorized to execute same, said bond being subject to approval by the city attorney. Said bond shall be joint and several and the penalty shown thereof must be set by resolution, and must be conditioned to be paid to the City of Vernon. Said bond shall insure the city against any loss or damage which may result to a person from any transaction involving the sale of any commodity handled by the licensee and through licensee's failure to deliver a clear title to any person entitled thereto, immediately upon licensee's receipt of a final payment for that commodity. Said bond shall not be void upon first recovery, but may be sued upon and recovered upon from to time to time by any person aggrieved until the whole penalty is exhausted.
(2) Affidavit. An affidavit shall be signed by the applicant, showing that said applicant is to conduct his business at a fixed place where his goods and wares will be displayed for sale. This application for a license must be signed by the applicant. If applicant is a corporation or a partnership, the affidavit must be signed by a duly authorized officer on behalf of the corporation or by all members of a partnership and it must contain the address of all officers of the corporation or of all the partners.
(b) Investigation of business of applicant. Upon receipt of said application, the city clerk shall investigate, or have investigated, the character and business of applicant as specified in said application. Thereafter, he may issue a license to applicant which shall be effective for the remaining portion of the current year.
(c) Record of sales. Each licensee licensed under the provisions set forth in section 5.27 of this Code, before the hour of 10:00 a.m. of each Monday and Wednesday of the week, shall make out and deliver to the chief of police, on a blank form to be furnished by the licensee and approved by the chief of police or his duly authorized deputy, a full, true and complete report in the English language, of all goods, wares or merchandise purchased since the filing of the last report. Said report shall show the date each article was received or purchased, and the true name and address of the person or persons by whom said article was sold, together with a description of that person or persons as nearly as may be ascertained by the licensee. The description required to be given of such person or persons shall show the style of dress, height, age, sex, complexion, color of moustache or beard (or both where the same are worn and, if neither is worn, said facts to be noted), together with a complete description of each article purchased by the licensee.
(d) Time for disposal of merchandise. It shall be unlawful for any licensee covered by the provisions of this section to sell or otherwise dispose of any article or thing bought by him within one week after such article or things has been purchased.
(e) Responsibility for conduct of employees. Each person operating under the provisions of this section or of any other section of this chapter shall be held strictly responsible for the conduct of his employees insofar as sales and purchases are concerned. Any violation of this subsection or of any other provision in this chapter, or of any law relating to or regulating such business in any unlawful manner by licensee, shall be deemed sufficient grounds to suspend and revoke any such license. No license shall be revoked except in a manner provided for in sections 5.68 or 5.69 of this Code.
