MARLBORO — Buyers and sellers of precious metals may soon face stricter regulations when doing business in Marlboro.
The Township Council introduced an ordinance on May 17 that would amend the municipal code to combat what are thought to be profits being made off stolen gold, silver, platinum and various coins.
“There has been a flood of not only residential thefts, but primarily motor vehicle thefts, where precious metals have been taken, whether it’s in our jurisdiction or neighboring jurisdictions,” Police Chief Bruce E. Hall said.
A barrage of people, most without jobs or visible means of support, have been raking in cash by selling the precious metals in Marlboro, Hall added.
“We don’t have a sufficient amount of time to take and vet these transactions,” the chief said, noting that vendors are only required to hold the items they purchase for a few hours before they are permitted to resell them.
If adopted, the ordinance would update certain requirements to allow for the sellers of precious metals to be identified in a simpler manner, according to township documents.
Someone selling precious metals would need to provide additional information to complete a background check. At that time, an employee of the business buying the precious metal would be responsible to inform the seller that the business does not buy merchandise that may be stolen.
Photographs of a particular item and its seller, plus other information, would be uploaded to an online database.
To pay for the technology, the annual license fee charged to business owners will reach $500. Currently, a precious metals business owner pays an initial $200 application fee, plus a $25 annual license fee.
Licenses may be revoked under the proposed ordinance.
Vendors would not be permitted to melt down or sell purchased precious metals for 240 hours, rather than 72 hours, according to the ordinance.
A more complete background check would also be performed on merchants themselves, who would have to apply to enter the business in Marlboro. A one-time application fee of $100 will cover the background check.
Hall said the amendments would give the Marlboro Police Department more control over the township’s precious metals trade. Longer amounts of time and an advanced reporting system would aid investigations, he said.
The ordinance will be up for adoption at the June 7 council meeting, which is scheduled for 8 p.m. in Town Hall.
Also at the May 17 meeting, council members passed a resolution to purchase 40 pagers for the Department of Public Safety. The contract is not to exceed $17,250, according to the resolution. Township officials were able to execute the purchase through a state contract.
If the governing body did not obtain the pagers, Marlboro’s emergency services workers would not be able to maintain a proper level of communication due to a change in the narrow band that the current pagers could not accommodate, council President Jeff Cantor said.
During the public portion of the meeting, resident Dan Matarese brought up what he alleged were illegal donations given in 2007 to the campaign of Mayor Jonathan Hornik, Councilman Frank LaRocca and Councilwoman Randi Marder.
Matarese alleged that several people with political affiliations contributed sums of money that exceeded Marlboro’s allowed limit.
Cantor said there were no ethical issues surrounding Matarese’s claims.