Door-to-door solicitors may soon have to possess additional identification when hawking goods in Galesburg.
City administration is proposing an amendment to an ordinance that would require door-to-door salespeople to wear city-issued photo identification badges. The proposal is intended to help residents more easily identify operators who scam consumers.
City Council members were presented with the ordinance amendment on first reading Monday. They could vote on the issue at the May 6 meeting.
Galesburg City Manager Eric Hanson tells WGIL, “We’ve had a number of issues with peddlers going to doors especially involving switching power supply and solar/renewable energy.
“We’re just trying to help residents and keep everyone safe, and hopefully reduce the amount of misinformation.”
The city’s current ordinance requires that anyone wishing to be a peddler or hawker (door-to-door sales) in the city must first obtain a license from the City Clerk’s office.
The city clerk works with the police department to verify that all provisions and requirements of the ordinance are met and then a license, in the form of a badge, is issued to the applicant. This badge must be worn at all times and has identifying information such as the peddler’s name, company, expiration date and the city clerk’s signature.
In an attempt to ensure that the solicitor is easily identified, the city is requesting a picture with the application, which would be scanned onto the badge.
The requirement would be similar to the requirement for taxi drivers in the city.
Hanson said Monday the city believes the addition of a photo would help ensure a badge will not be transferred to another peddler without going through the application process.
