According to officials, panhandling is becoming a problem in Soddy-Daisy and city councilors have voted unanimously to ban the practice in certain neighborhoods.
“We’ve actually had some problems with aggressive panhandling here in town and have had to call the police several times,” City Manager Burt Johnson said at Thursday’s commission meeting. “We didn’t have anything against it in our ordinance, so we did it.”
He said the incidents occurred in the Walmart area and were linked to several people.
The city ordinance defines panhandling as actively asking for a donation of money or other items of value. Passive panhandling, such as playing music on the sidewalk, is not prohibited, said city attorney Sam Elliott at the meeting.
(READ MORE: Soddy-Daisy bans camping on city property)
“If someone sits there and extends their hand, everything is fine. However, if they become aggressive, they are violating this ordinance,” he said.
Begging means approaching people, harassing them, touching them and similar acts, Johnson said in response to a citizen’s question about whether the ordinance also applies to people holding up signs asking for help.
The ordinance does not apply to people who raise money for nonprofit organizations such as churches or sports teams, Mayor Steve Everett said.
“We’ve seen aggressive panhandling, some people holding up traffic,” Everett said. “That’s just not something the citizens of Soddy-Daisy want here in our town.”
The city is also in the process of implementing the state’s aggressive panhandling law, which has its own definition that includes intentionally pursuing people who are lured without their consent by following or blocking their vehicle or path, Elliott said.
(READ MORE: City of Chattanooga adopts new panhandling rules)
“We are just trying to prevent people from being attacked,” he said.
Aggressive begging is banned throughout the city, and begging, which is more broadly defined, is prohibited in certain areas, including in front of restaurants and schools, as well as on city sidewalks and rights-of-way, he said.
The aim is not to arrest someone for begging, but to give police officers the opportunity to ask begging people to leave an area, Johnson said after the meeting.
Police will punish violations of the panhandling ordinance in the same way they punish violations of the ordinance passed last year banning camping on city property, Everett said.
“I don’t think our police will kill a mosquito with a sledgehammer,” he said. “I think they will be kind and considerate to anyone who is unlucky.”
Commissioners will hold a final vote on the ordinance during their meeting on September 5 at 7 p.m. at City Hall.
Contact Emily Crisman at [email protected] or 423-757-6508.
