Milton considering resale shop rule
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Store owner Lynda Hakala, left, sells Mary Wilke of Edgerton a proof set of coins on 12-20-11. Hakala owns the greater Midwest Trading Company in Milton and her store is one that will be targeted by a new city ordinance.
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Lynda Hakala, owner of the Greater Midwest Trading Company in Milton, uses a loupe to examine a piece of jewelry she was buying from a customer. As a business that buys from the public, Hakala's store would be bound by a new ordinance proposed for the city.
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Dennis Garthwaite
MILTON — It was a typical Tuesday afternoon at Greater Midwest Trading in Milton.
A line of four customers waited for service at the coin, jewelry and antique resale shop at 209 Parkview Drive. Three more came in the door.
One customer bought a proof set of coins. Another sold owner Lynda Hakala some oddball change he'd collected over the years.
Each transaction took just minutes, but Hakala was so busy that she didn't have time to chat.
Yet, under a proposed city ordinance on pawn brokers and resale shops unveiled Tuesday, Hakala would have to enter an electronic record of every transaction with customers that sell her coins, jewelry or valuables—including a digital photo of the items and a detailed account of the customer's identification—immediately, during each transaction.
Milton Police Chief Dan Layber, who presented the ordinance to the city council Tuesday, said the department wants it put in place to help law enforcement track stolen merchandise that can find its way into the local resale market.
"It's to prevent hopefully, people form pawning items that don't belong to them," Layber said. "If they do, it's a method for us to track them down and take the proper legal action."
The proposed ordinance mirrors a state statute. Some other area communities, such as Janesville, have similar policies on the books.
Some Milton resale businesses work under federal requirements for registering resale items, but the city has none of its own regulations on the books. One resale shop only requires customers selling goods to provide their phone number.
The ordinance would require resale shops to electronically register identification of customers who sell them jewelry, electronics, guns and other valuables and put a 14-day hold on re-selling them.
The information would be put in the Northeast Wisconsin Property Recovery System, a statewide database used to track stolen goods.
Although the ordinance was only up for a first reading Tuesday, the council appeared poised to rush it into effect.
Alderman David Adams, who attended the meeting by phone, made a motion to waive a second and third reading on the ordinance, which would have put it in place Tuesday.
But the council backed off and scheduled the ordinance for more review in January after Hakala, who was at the meeting Tuesday, urged the city to examine the plan's effect on local resale shops.
Hakala agreed there should be a system in place to safeguard against the sale of stolen items, but she asked the council to amend the part of the ordinance requiring electronic records to be entered during customer transactions.
She said she normally collects most of the information the city would require during transactions, but there's no way she could ask a line of people to wait while she puts it all in an electronic database.
"I'd have to close my doors," Hakala said. "There'd be no way."
She also argued against a 14-day hold on reselling items, citing a state statute that says she is exempt.
"I'm a coin dealer. I can't hold precious coins that long. The market is too volatile," she said.
Dennis "Reno" Garthwaite, owner of the gun shop Thunder Shooting Supplies, said the ordinance would cost him time and money. He said he had heard of Janesville's similar policy.
"I was hoping they wouldn't do that here," he said.
Garthwaite's store at 24 Front St. buys and sells about a dozen used guns a week.
Garthwaite understands the need for law enforcement to track stolen items, especially guns, but he already does most of the reporting described in the ordinance on paper to meet federal gun registration requirements.
Garthwaite said he or his two part-time employees would have to duplicate that work to satisfy the city's electronic registration requirements.
"I understand you want to get your stolen things back, but it's a paperwork nightmare," Garthwaite said. "It's just going to add to costs."
Having a 14-day hold on used guns also would put a dent in his cash flow, he said.
Another Milton business that could be affected by the ordinance is The Corner Closet Consignment Resale Shop at 251 Parkview Drive, Milton.
Some used items for sale there include jewelry, small electronics, DVDs and video games—all items that would require electronic registry under the ordinance.
The Corner Closet resells on commission used items that clients bring in. Clients are paid when their items sell. According to clerks at the shop, current policy there only requires a client's phone number to open a consignment account.
Store owner Beth Marquart was unavailable Tuesday for comment on the shop's policies or how the new ordinance could affect store operations.
Dec 22, 2011 at 7:54 p.m.
Dec 22, 2011 at 3:05 p.m.
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rickwantsmoney: Who is this infamous “they” you speak of?
Dec 22, 2011 at 2:30 p.m.
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They say 50% of everything listed on Ebay is stolen. Are they going to regulate all those sellers too?
Dec 22, 2011 at 12:36 p.m.
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Good comments everyone. More taxpayer cost and business red tape that voters never asked for, demanded, or want. This is really city officials making themselves feel good by "doing something" and law enforcement justifying increased manpower costs.
Dec 22, 2011 at 11:45 a.m.
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A 14 day hold seems excessive but it shouldn't be a business buster to take a digital photo,up load it and type in some id info.
Dec 22, 2011 at 9:48 a.m.
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I feel sorry for these shop owners especially the ones that buy gold and silver scrap items,for them to hold items for 14 days would put them out of business as the way the market has been lately you buy today at $100 in 14 days that same purchase might only be $40 they would stand to lose money.The only way around that would be the seller would have to bring items to store and agree to sell but not be paid until 14 days later at an adjusted rate, or take item to police station first and let them record the items to be sold and then the seller assumes responsibility and takes it away from shop owner
Dec 22, 2011 at 8:52 a.m.
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I have a better idea. Why not just require people to put GPS tracking devices on everything they own over $100 in value? Then the police won't have to work too hard & maybe we can downsize the budget by eliminating some of their positions?
Dec 22, 2011 at 6:41 a.m.
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This is pure unadulterated Socialism rearing its ugly head again. If SB1 here and her other liberal democrat friends get their way, this will be tame compared to what you will get. She isn't in favor of this but she hasn't the ability to see whats ahead with socialism. Ask the people of Norway what crazy rules they are subject to so they can get what the socialists call "free stuff" from the government. I have and it isn't pretty.
Dec 22, 2011 at 5:53 a.m.
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Surely there has to be some middle ground here. The businesses don't want to fence stolen property (that is why we have Craig's list and ebay), and the city wants to keep things "clean", but open. Why not still require some reporting, but not immediate (say, within 24 hours) and cut the "hold" time to 4 days? What is magic about 2 weeks?
Dec 21, 2011 at 9:44 p.m.
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Another case of "what if" or "might" or "could". Now you can see how socialism works, next stop, communism. Bye Bye freedoms, all in the name of security. Is it not bad enough that they have a military style SWAT. A police state is just around the corner people.
Dec 21, 2011 at 9:33 p.m.
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3 booming businesses in MIlton will go by the wayside. There has got to be a better way.
Dec 21, 2011 at 9:20 p.m.
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Another fine example of the government regulating away jobs and business.
Dec 21, 2011 at 7:02 p.m.
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Partyof4 - I concur. The shop is decent, but when you don't return calls/emails, or work with a customer when transferring items, usually your customers go elsewhere (like I did).
Dec 21, 2011 at 6:58 p.m.
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Thunder shoot be more concerned about all the business they have lost by not returning emails and phone calls. They have lost thousands of dollars by not returning calls.
Dec 21, 2011 at 6:53 p.m.
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So, gun shops and pawn shops would need to record items, hold for two weeks until cleared by the local police department, before they could be sold? How would this ordinance keep someone from stealing an item and then selling it to a relative/friend, next door neighbor? Would it only keep someone from stealing an item and selling it to a pawn/gun shop? How about garage sales, why not make the garage seller register their items, and then 14 days later, actually hold a garage sale? Or do criminals not hold items to sell at a garage sales? Also, how would the 14 day holdback prevent someone from selling the items to a gun/pawnshop in a different location that doesn't have the holdback requirement? How about having the newspaper classifieds department ask about serial numbers and require individuals who want to list their items to wait 14 days to actually sell their items. With all of the municipalities that have ordinances of this type, what is the recovery of stolen item - return to rightful owner success rate? Better yet, have ordinances of this type actually deterred the stealing of items? This is the information that I would like to see, before supporting or not supporting, an ordinance of this type.
Dec 21, 2011 at 6:04 p.m.
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I would like an electronic trail and pictures of what happens with drugs confiscated by the cops :)
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