INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — Indian River County scrap metal dealers successfully argued against two key provisions in a proposed ordinance regulating their industry at today’s county commission meeting.
The ordinance crafted by the county attorney’s office and the sheriff’s office would have required people selling scrap metal to prove ownership of recycled material and forced scrap dealers to pay for certain types of metal and metal object with a check instead of cash.
Speaking for scrap dealers, Shannon Cook, president of Indian River Scrap Metal, said proving ownership of old refrigerator coils and air conditioner parts would be nearly impossible since the objects might have been purchased many years earlier or salvaged in legitimate circumstances where no receipt would be available.
He also said a receipt could be forged and would not be easy to tie to a specific set of copper coils or other material since scrap metal does not have identifying numbers or marks.
State law requires people selling certain types of frequently stolen metals to sign a document under penalty of perjury stating the material is theirs to sell, and Cook said that is the best solution.
Cook said paying by check would do nothing to discourage thieves, but would cause bookkeeping problems for scrap dealers and inconvenience for legitimate customers.
“Ninety-nine-point-two-five percent of our customers are good people, according to the sheriff’s own figures,” Cook said. “How can you prohibit cash transactions? This is America. That is our currency.”
Cook also repeated the argument he made at a prior commission meeting that by allowing thieves to complete transactions, in which he records their thumbprint, driver’s license number and license plate number and videotapes them offloading their material and accepting payment, law enforcement gains valuable clues and evidence to aid in arresting thieves.
He said two arrests had been made at his scrap yard on the basis of his records in the past week and suggested that, if metal sale restrictions become too tough in Indian River County, thieves who steal here will simply sell elsewhere and never be caught.
“We want to help out,” Cook said. “We are catching these guys.”
Sherriff Deryl Loar said that the pay-by-check and proof of ownership requirements would help stop thieves and assist law enforcement in making arrests.
Sherriff’s Office General Counsel James Harpring admitted that proving ownership of scrap metal might be difficult and said it would be reasonable to take out that provision. He continued to argue for the pay-by-check provision on the grounds it would deter thieves from selling stolen goods because they would fear the check-cashing transaction and paper trail.
“It is a prophylactic measure,” Harpring said.
Harpring also made a public apology to Keith Taig, owner of Mr. Scrap Inc., for mistakenly suggesting that he had been arrested in the past.
After the previous meeting, the Sheriff’s Office told the media that Taig had been arrested in Indian River County, but today Harping said that was not that case.
“Mr. Taig has never been arrested,” he said. “I apologize for the misunderstanding.”
At today’s meeting, Taig made many of the same points as Cook, detailing ways he cooperates with the sheriff’s office and the Vero Beach Police to help catch metal thieves.
“I am not resisting this,” he said. “I am trying to help.”
Commissioner Gary Wheeler said he thought current requirements for signing an affidavit of ownership was sufficient and several other commissioners said they did not see what paying by check would accomplish.
“I don’t think what we have in front of us [the proposed ordinance] is what we need,” said Commissioner Wesley Davis.
The Sheriff’s Office, scrap dealer and commissioners all agreed that a third proposed provision for faster and more accurate reporting of suspicious transactions was a good idea, but commissioners were hesitant to pass an ordinance with any specific requirements for software installation or upgrade until a system has been identified and priced.
“We need to let these businesses know what it is going to cost before we impose it on them,” said Commissioner Peter O’Bryan.
Commissioners tabled the proposed ordinance to give the Sheriff’s Office time to research the best most cost effective system for information sharing between scrap metal dealers and law enforcement.
Harpring said after that meeting that someone from the Sherriff’s investigations division would do the research and contact scrap metal dealers individually or as a group to see if the selected system will be affordable and effective for them.
“This is a victory for everyone,” said Cook after the meeting. “It is good for us and good for the Sherriff’s Office. We want to catch thieves as much as anybody else and this is the way to go about it.”
Commissioner Joe Fletcher said the scrap metal dealers are upstanding businesspeople who contribute to the county’s economy and thanked them for their cooperation with law enforcement.