ASHLEY TERRY
Bob Dylan sang about “knock, knock, knockin’ on heaven’s door,” but city officials are considering stricter regulations for those knocking on the doors of Azle residents.
During the Oct. 20 meeting of the Azle City Council, Police Chief Kevin Rogers spoke to the council about changes his department would like to see to the city’s ordinance regarding solicitors.
“Mayor, council, we're here to talk about the solicitor ordinance and trying to adjust it,” Rogers said during the meeting. “I think we can agree that times have changed.”
Rogers explained that a few amendments to the ordinance could help strengthen regulations for door-to-door solicitation within the city limits. The changes he proposed include reducing solicitation hours from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. — or dark — to 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and reducing the duration of a solicitor’s license from one year to 30 days.
“We'd also like for them to provide a full and complete statement of the applicant's criminal record obtained through DPS (Department of Public Safety) — by them, not us — including detailed accounts for us,” Rogers said. “We're sending people out into the public knocking on our citizens' doors, and we really don't know what their background is.”
Rogers told The Azle News that while most police departments handle solicitor permits, Azle’s permitting department — specifically senior administrative assistant Malinda Nowell — currently handles them. However, after looking into the process more with Nowell and David Hawkins, director of planning and development, Rogers said they all agreed that it made the most sense for the Azle Police Department to take over.
“They don’t have a good resource, I don't believe, to look up and verify anything, so I think this would just be a better option for us,” Rogers told council.
According to Section 4.07.033 of the city’s Code of Ordinances, a separate application for a solicitor’s registration is required for each individual that must include details such as the applicant’s age, address and identification, employer information, hours and location of solicitation activities, certain misdemeanor or felony convictions and a brief description of the goods or services to be sold or offered for sale. However, churches, schools, civic organizations and other nonprofits are exempt from certain requirements as long as they provide city staff with information about their organization and planned solicitation activities.
Upon authorization of the registration and payment of the fee — $100 annually for businesses plus $10 for each applicant — solicitors are also issued an identification badge which must be worn while engaging in solicitation activities.
The identification badges, Rogers said, feature the solicitor’s name and photo and help identify those who are approved by the city for solicitation purposes. Residents are encouraged to call the APD’s non-emergency phone number at 817-444-3221 to report solicitors who are not authorized to operate in the city.
While the number of permits varies, officials said the city has received as many as 60 solicitor permit applications in one month and typically issues between 50 and 60 badges annually — but Rogers said there are more solicitors who operate without a permit or a city-issued identification badge.
The city’s Code of Ordinance states that solicitation activities are prohibited on Sundays and federal holidays as well as at any residence or business with a sign stating that solicitors are not welcome, such as “No solicitors” or words of a similar meaning. Solicitation is also prohibited where the owner or occupants have requested to be included on the city’s “do not solicit” list. A copy of this list is available on the city’s website and distributed to each person who has been issued a solicitor registration.
Rogers told The Azle News that while there hasn’t been an increase in solicitors, the APD has continued to receive complaints from residents who are on the “do not solicit” list or have “no soliciting” signs posted on their property.
“When we follow up on those complaints, we find that many solicitors either don’t have a permit at all or, in some cases, have a permit but ignore the restrictions,” he said. “We try to educate them first and make sure they understand the rules, but there are always a few who choose not to comply, and those individuals end up receiving citations.”
Having solicitor permits issued through the police department, Rogers said, will allow for officers to have the most accurate, up-to-date information on both the “no-knock list” and the individuals who have permits. He explained that the change in processes will also allow the APD to address violations quickly, and, when necessary, revoke a solicitor’s permission to operate in the city.
“Our goal is to make sure residents who have chosen not to be contacted are respected,” Rogers said. “At the end of the day, our priority is our citizens and their peace of mind.”
Council members gave a resounding verbal “yes” when Rogers asked if the APD could move forward with making ¯the proposed changes and bring back an updated ordinance for council approval at a later date. Although no formal vote was taken on the amendments, Rogers said the revised ordinance could return to city council for consideration as early as the second meeting in November or during one of the December meetings.
