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Changes Proposed for Peddling Ordinance

Changes Proposed for Peddling Ordinance

The Town Council is proposing changes to a town ordinance that would prohibit door-to-door peddling or soliciting on certain holidays as well as early in the morning or after sunset. A public hearing and town meeting to approve the proposed changes will be scheduled in the future.

According to the proposed draft, the ordinance would state, “No person under any circumstance may solicit, sell, barter, carry for sale or expose any food, goods, wares, or merchandise either on foot or from any vehicle or solicit contributions for any charitable or religious cause before the hour of 9 a.m. or after sunset, or at any time during the holidays of New Years Day, Memorial Day, July 4, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas Day.”

Any change to an ordinance requires a public hearing as well as a town meeting to approve the potential change. The Town Council unanimously approved the proposed ordinance draft at a Dec. 20, 2023, meeting and agreed to schedule the public hearing for a Tuesday in January.

However, the day after that meeting, Town Manager Karl Kilduff announced he would be leaving Clinton for a new job. Kilduff’s last day will be Monday, Feb. 19.

Reached for comment on Jan. 9, Town Council Chairperson Carrie Allen said that given the amount of work the council has on its plate with finding a new Town Manager and the approaching budget season, the new ordinance has taken a backseat.

“I feel it is safe to say that we won’t revisit the peddling ordinance until we have completed all possible work with Karl on the town budget, so we will probably get back to the issue in March,” Allen said.

Resident Patricia White first proposed the change to the ordinance at a Town Council meeting on Sept. 6, 2023. White was irked when a solicitor from GoNetspeed knocked on her door on Labor Day evening, and she inquired to the council if there were any provisions that could stop peddlers from receiving permits to go door to door on a federal holiday.

White also brought her complaints to the Board of Police Commissioners. Over the next several months, the town looked at tweaking the ordinance and making sure the proposed changes were legal.