Item 4: Ordinance Concerning Used Merchandise Dealers

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ATTACHMENT C USED MERCHANDISE DEALERS ORDINANCE FUNDING MODELS The pricing model proposed by the inter-agency team from Eugene and Springfield Police Departments and the Lane County Sheriff’s Office (LCSO) to fund the Used Merchandise Dealer Automated Reporting System is based on the use of a third party vendor who will provide the internet-based program for collecting, storing and delivering transaction information gathered in pawn shops and secondhand goods businesses. The model is designed to apply to all stores in Eugene, Springfield and unincorporated Lane County who meet the qualifications as set forth in the proposed amendments to the Used Merchandise Dealers Ordinance (see Attachment “A”). If the other jurisdictions do not successfully pass a similar ordinance that requires automated reporting of transactions then the vendor’s quote for the annual system fee would be modified to reflect the reduced number of transactions. As currently proposed, the three law enforcement agencies would enter into an inter-agency agreement which would identify that the program would be administered by the Eugene Police Department (EPD). When the program is operational, the automated systems of the vendor will replace the administrative duties that are now performed manually by EPD’s two Property Crime detectives and the civilian staff person. The three employees would then have additional time to utilize the electronic database with real-time information and conduct other enforcement activities. Fees charged to stores are based upon each store’s level of annual transactions. These fees will be used to pay the annual systems charges to the vendor. Eugene’s financial systems are capable of billing the respective stores. The EPD would receive the fees which would offset the annual vendor fees. The annual cost to administer the program is estimated at $700. In this model the used merchandise stores which already require a level of police scrutiny that is recognized in the existing Used Merchandise Dealer Ordinance, would be required to contribute to the cost of providing necessary law enforcement oversight. Following the approval of the amendments to the Used Merchandise Dealers Ordinance, the City Manager will be authorized to develop a fee schedule which is adopted through the Administrative Rule process. An estimate of proposed charges to the stores that would be sufficient to fund the annual system is provided below: ESTIMATE OF ANNUAL SYSTEM CHARGES (Fees) Number of Range of Estimated Tier Level Pricing Model 1 Stores Annual Transactions Annual Charge 2 Per Store Per Store 7 >3,000 I $700 8 1,000 – 2,999 II $550 23 300 - 999 III $400 20 <300 IV $200 58 5,625 $22,500 1 Stores are located in Eugene, Springfield and Unincorporated Lane County 2 Based upon reported transactions in 2004