WILLMAR -- An ordinance amendment requiring pawn shops to enter transaction information into a computer network used by law enforcement agencies to check for stolen property won't take effect until April 1, 2006.
New regulations approved 6-2 by the Willmar City Council this week will require pawn shop owners like Dennis Johnson of Security Coin and Pawn Shop to enter information about pawn customers and the items they sell into the Automated Pawn System.
Johnson had suggested a starting date of Jan. 1, 2007.
The amendment initially proposed starting sooner -- 60 days after official publication of the ordinance or Jan. 1, 2006.
But a compromise date of April 1, 2006, was suggested by Police Chief Jim Kulset and was approved by the council.
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Johnson said he favored a later starting date because he feels time is needed to learn how to use a computer for entering the information into the system, and said he needs time to hire and train additional staff.
"I knew it would be a complete change for me, and I feel that not only my shop but others that have to get on the system, you've got to have a little time, to have enough money if you've got to buy equipment, if you need extra help and have to train people,'' Johnson said. "You have to be good on the computer ... and good in dealing with other people's property. The help cost will be the big cost.''
Entering detailed information about jewelry will take the most time, he said.
"I'm going to have to have a second person here all the time. If you have someone with lots of pieces and I'm here by myself and lots of other customers are coming in for other business, they'll be standing and waiting and that's not fair to them.''
The city and pawn shops also compromised on the number of days the shops will be required to hold property before it can be sold. The ordinance initially proposed 30 days. Johnson preferred no days but suggested 14, and Kulset recommended 21 days, which the council adopted.
"It's not that we can't live with it. I thought two weeks would have been adequate. Usually if there's a problem, it should turn up in two weeks,'' Johnson said.
Johnson, who has been in business for 16 years, said he knows the system is coming and wishes he had more time. "But like I told the chief and the council, if they feel it's going to get more benefits than the cost, I'll do my part and I'll do it well.''
The Automated Pawn System was developed in the mid-1990s and was started in 1997 by the Minneapolis Police Department to replace an increasing number of paper transaction reports. Pawn shop owners are required to file the reports with their local law enforcement agencies.
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Promoters of Automated Pawn say it saves investigators' time by letting them electronically search for stolen items rather than paging through hundreds or thousands of paper reports. During the past eight years, law enforcement agencies in 37 cities have joined the system, said Phil Hafvenstein, Automated Pawn project coordinator.
"I believe Chief Kulset has provided sound and compelling reasons for updating your current pawn broker ordinance and ending the ineffective and unnecessary expense of shuffling more than 7,000 handwritten pawn tickets each year,'' said Hafvenstein.
Council members who voted in favor of the ordinance amendment were Doug Reese, Denis Anderson, Ron Christianson, Cindy Swenson, Rick Fagerlie and Bruce DeBlieck. Voting against were Jim Dokken and Steve Gardner.
