Ringgold officials looking for ways to regulate unauthorized donation boxes
Overflowing donation boxes in town have Ringgold officials concerned and looking for a way to designate “for-profit” from “nonprofit,” and regulate where they can be placed.
Over the past two City Council meetings on Sept. 10 and 24, officials have discussed the problem and looked at possibly drafting an ordinance to combat the issue.
“I put this on the agenda because the issue is with some of the donation boxes we have around the city. They’re not being properly emptied and a number of mattresses and different things are being stood up next to the boxes,” Councilman Larry Black said.
Specifically, Black says the box between the Taco Bell and Pizza Hut restaurants have been getting quite full.
“If you’re sitting in line at the drive-thru at the Taco Bell, to your immediate right there between Taco Bell and Pizza Hut, we have three of these boxes that have been placed there,” Black said. “They’re on the right-of-way, and they’re running over full and have not been emptied.”
When city staff tried to find the owner of the boxes, they learned that they are owned by a for-profit company, and that there’s no city ordinance regulating the placement of such boxes.
“Even though it’s for donations, this is a for-profit company from the way we understand it, so we felt going forward that we need to have some kind of ordinance in the city to look at properly addressing this so they have to ask for permission before they place these,” Black said. “Also that if they do not handle it properly, that we can have a notification process to where they will be in violation of ordinance where we can issue fines or whatever is needed.”
Black and City Manager Dan Wright pointed out that if companies are dropping these boxes off in town during the night, then the unaware property owners could encounter liability issues.
After talking with City Attorney Jim Bisson, Wright said there’s actually a state law in place to regulate such activity.
Councilwoman Sara Clark added that she recently learned the city of Calhoun has its own city ordinance on donation boxes and that it hasn’t been challenged.
She said that perhaps she or someone else on the board should present the city’s concerns to the state in the future to see if a city can have more say in monitoring its own activity. “Perhaps we cold-petition the state law to possibly change through legislature in the future,” Clark said.
According to Mayor Nick Millwood, one thing he doesn’t want to see happen is a couple of bad apples ruin the donation process for the whole bunch.
“I just don’t want things like the Little Libraries to get caught up. I don’t know if that could be considered a donation box,” Millwood said. “Donation boxes for food, and that type of thing could be exceptions.”
Overall, the board agreed that it wants to support the good and worthy projects, and that the primary concern is with the for-profit companies that are essentially dropping their boxes in town without notice or permission and gaining from them later.
“The issue is not that we do not want these proper companies placing the boxes and collect things for the needy. These are forprofit companies that are coming out in the middle of the night and placing these boxes at certain places and the city does not even have any idea that they’ve even been placed,” Wright said. “At no time are these companies reaching out to the city or the actual property owners before they place the boxes out there.”
With companies that are placing the boxes for-profit, Wright said they should be treated like any other business.
“On these for-profit companies, they would have to buy a business license or occupational tax for each location just the Redbox would do,” Wright said. “Everywhere you see a Redbox is a different location, and they have to purchase an occupational tax.”
No action was taken on the matter during either meeting, but the city could still try to work with the state to come up with better solutions to the problem.
Under state law, which went into effect July 1, 2010, all collection boxes must bear a sign with letters at least two inches tall that state the name, address, phone number and website of the responsible entity. Those in for-profit businesses must also include a statement that donations are not for the benefit of any charitable or religious organization.