Chapter 118 — FORTUNE TELLING

For the purpose of this chapter, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning. FOR PAY. For a fee, reward, donation, loan, or receipt of anything of value.

FORTUNE TELLING. Telling of fortunes, forecasting of futures, or furnishing of any information not otherwise obtainable by the ordinary process of knowledge by means of any occult, psychic power, faculty, force, clairvoyance, clairaudience, cartomancy, psychology, psychometry, phrenology, spirits, tea leaves, or other such reading, mediumship, seership, prophecy, augury, astrology, palmistry, necromancy, mind reading, telepathy, or other craft, art, science, card, talisman, charm, potion, magnetism, magnetized article or substance, crystal gazing, or magic of any kind or nature. ('65 Code, § 5-12.01) (Ord. 264-C.S., passed - - )

(A) No person shall conduct, engage in, carry on, participate in, or practice fortune telling or cause the same to be done for pay without having first obtained a permit from the Council and without having posted and maintained in full force and effect a surety bond as required by § 118.06 of this chapter.

(B) No person shall violate any of the terms and conditions of a permit issued pursuant to this chapter, nor any of the regulations and provisions within this chapter. Each day such violations occur shall constitute a separate offense.

('65 Code, § 5-12.02) (Ord. 264-C.S., passed - - ) Penalty, see § 10.99

Every natural person who, for pay, actively conducts, engages in, carries on, or practices fortune telling shall file a separate verified application for a permit with the Finance Director. The application shall contain:

(A) The name, home and business address, and home and business telephone number of the applicant;

(B) The record of convictions for violations of law, excluding minor traffic violations;

(C) The fingerprints of the applicant on a form provided by the Police Department; and

(D) The address, city and state, and the approximate dates where and when the applicant practiced a similar business, either alone or in conjunction with others. ('65 Code, § 5-12.03) (Ord. 264-C.S., passed - - )

Upon the filing of the application, it shall be referred by the Finance Director to the Police Department for an investigation, report, and recommendation. The investigation shall be conducted to verify the facts contained in the application and any supporting data. The investigation shall be completed and a report and recommendation made in writing to the Council within 14 days after the filing of the application, unless the applicant requests or consents to an extension of the time period. If the report recommends the denial of the permit to the applicant, the grounds for the recommended denial shall be set forth. At the time of the filing of the report and recommendation with the Council, a copy thereof shall be served personally or by certified mail by the Finance Director to the applicant, accompanied by a notice to the applicant who may request to be heard when the Council considers the application and report.

('65 Code, § 5-12.04) (Ord. 264-C.S., passed - - )

(A) The Council shall consider the application and the report and recommendation at a hearing held at a regularly scheduled meeting on or before the fifteenth day after the filing of the report and recommendation referred to in § 118.04 of this chapter.

(B) Notice of the time and place of the hearing shall be given to all parties by the Finance Director at least three days prior to the hearing. (C) Any interested party shall be heard upon a reasonable request.

(D) The city shall have the burden of proof to show that the permit should be denied.

(E) The decision of the Council to grant or deny the permit shall be in writing and, if adverse to the applicant, shall contain findings of fact and a determination of the issues presented.

(F) Unless the applicant agrees in writing to an extension of time, the Council shall make its order denying or granting the application with in 15 days after the completion of the hearing on the application for the permit and shall notify the applicant of its action by personal service or certified mail.

(G) Any member of the Council who is absent from the hearing or has not read or heard the record of the proceedings shall not vote on the decision. ('65 Code, § 5-12.05) (Ord. 264-C.S., passed - - )

(A) The Council shall approve the issuance of the permit if it finds that:

(1) All information contained in the application and supporting data is true;

(2) The applicant has not, within the previous six months, been convicted of any violation of this chapter or any law relating to fraud or moral turpitude; (3) The applicant appeared in person at the hearing; and

(4) The applicant agrees to abide by and comply with all the conditions of the permit and this chapter.

(B) The Council shall deny the permit only if it cannot make each of the findings set forth in division (A) of this section.

(C) If the Council approves the permit, the Finance Director shall thereafter issue the permit when:

(1) The fee required by § 110.69 of this title has been paid; and

(2) The applicant has posted with the City Clerk a surety bond in the principal sum amount of $10,000, executed as surety by a good and sufficient corporate surety authorized to do a surety business in the state and as a principal by the applicant. The form of the bond shall have been approved by the City Attorney and shall have been given to insure good faith and fair dealing on the part of the applicant and as a guarantee of indemnity for any or all loss, damage, theft, or other unfair dealings suffered by any patron of the applicant within the city during the term of the permit.

(D) The term of the permit shall not exceed one year. A renewal application shall be filed no later than 30 days prior to the expiration of the permit and shall be processed in the same manner as a new application. The Council, in its discretion, may grant a permit for a period of less than one year and may impose such reasonable conditions upon the granting of such permit as, in the discretion of the Council, based upon the evidence presented in connection with the application for the permit, are necessary for the protection of the public health, safety, and welfare.

('65 Code, § 5-12.06) (Ord. 264-C.S., passed - - )

(A) The provisions of this section shall not apply to any person solely by reason of the fact that he or she is engaged in the business of entertaining the public by demonstrations of mind reading, mental telepathy, thought conveyance, or the giving of horoscopic readings at public places and in the presence of and within the hearing of other persons at which no questions are answered, as part of such entertainment, except to permit all persons present at such place to hear such answers.

(B) No person shall be required to pay any fee or take out any permit for conducting or participating in any religious ceremony or service when such person holds a certificate of ordination as a minister, missionary, medium, healer, or clairvoyant, collectively referred to as minister in this section, from any bona fide church or religious association maintaining a church and holding regular services and having a creed or set of religious principals which is recognized by all churches of like faith; provided that:

(1) Except as provided in division (B)(3) of this section, the fees, gratuities, emoluments, and profits thereof shall be regularly accounted for and paid solely to or for the benefit of the bona fide church or religious association as defined in this division.

(2) The minister holding a certificate of ordination from such bona fide church or religious association, as defined in this division, shall file with the Finance Director a copy of the minister's certificate of ordination with the minister's name, age, street address, and telephone number in the city where the activity set forth in this division is to be conducted.

(3) Such bona fide church or religious association, as defined in this division, may pay to its ministers a salary or compensation based upon a percentage basis pursuant to an agreement between the church and the minister which agreement is embodied in a resolution and transcribed in the minutes of such church or religious association. ('65 Code, § 5- 12.07) (Ord. 264-C.S., passed - - )