Broken Arrow Leaders Address Concerns About Rise In Solicitors

The City of Broken Arrow said it's getting complaints from homeowners about door-to-door solicitors around town.

Broken Arrow does allow for businesses to solicit, but city leaders said there is a right way to go about it.

Businesses that try to solicit door-to-door must have a permit from the city. However, if a homeowner has a no soliciting sign or no trespassing sign, the city said solicitors should not visit that home.

Homeowners are encouraged to call BAPD’s non-emergency number if a solicitor ignores the sign or the homeowner's request to leave their property.

Broken Arrow City Manager Michael Spurgeon said this is where challenges can pop up because officers can only write tickets for violations that get reported.

"In order for there to be enforcement action taken, the homeowner, the person that had the encounter has to be willing to come in and basically file a complaint or citation at municipal court in order to for that matter to be addressed. And sometimes residents don’t want to do that because they don’t want to get involved," Spurgeon said.

Spurgeon said this is the best way to help businesses accountable if they do not follow the city's code when it comes to soliciting.

"That’s what the mayor and council and I are looking for is for those folks that have permits to honor the permits, and if they don’t, there needs to be ramifications. That’s where we need a citizen's help because if in fact, we start to get complaints and people file these complaints on a business that violates the city code, then they put themselves in jeopardy of actually losing the ability to solicit within our city," Spurgeon said.

BAPD said they've received 10 trespassing calls due to door-to-door solicitors in just the last couple of weeks. BAPD’s non-emergency line is 918-259-8400.