MANCHESTER — An alderman has called for examination of a 2-month-old ordinance that puts strict requirements on pawnshops and stores that sell second-hand merchandise.

Business owners said the ordinance slows the turn-around of their wares, costing them thousands of dollars. But Manchester police said it’s designed to clamp down on markets for stolen goods.

“People don’t think about how anti-business they made this,” said Joe Lacerda, owner of Manchester Music Mill, which sells new and used instruments on Elm Street.

He has rented a $1,100-a-month space, he said, to comply with a 30-day hold requirement for any guitar or other instrument he buys from a customer.

Alderman Phil Greazzo said he will discuss the ordinance, passed June 5 by the Board of Mayor and Alderman, next month when his Administration Committee meets.

The ordinance may make it easier for police to do their job, he said, but it’s doing so at the expense of Manchester businesses.

The ordinance replaces the old pawn slip system. That system required that every item pawned or purchased for resale be written up by hand with a pawn slip. A police secretary had to enter the information into the department’s computer system — 25,000 pawn slips for 63,000 items in 2010, Patti said.

The pawnshop owner had three days to turn a slip over to police. A week after the item was pawned, the shop owner was free to sell it.

The new system requires the owner to upload information, including digital images, of the seller and the product to LeadsOnline, an on-line system used by more than 2,000 police departments across the nation.

The shopowner pays $1 per transaction, and he must hold the item for 30 days to give police time to receive theft reports about the property.

“I honestly believe this is helping us solve crimes sooner and more efficiently,” said police Sgt. John Patti, a detective who is overseeing the system. He added that descriptions were vague under the old system, and sometimes products would be sold before police could track them down.

Patti said it went into effect Aug. 1, and 15 theft or burglary cases have been solved with the quick access to stolen property. One victim picked out a ring stolen in a burglary through the system, Patti said.

He said the system will become even more effective once additional police departments in the area join.

But Greazzo said he’s not sure LeadsOnline is the best system. He voted against it in June because he was uncomfortable with a private organization, LeadsOnline, having access to information about a Manchester customer.

He said some pawnshops have gone out of business because of the ordinance. But Patti said the one to close its doors, B&T’s Bargain Exchange, was owned by a man in his 70s who closed rather than grapple with the new system.

The ordinance applies to about 50 businesses, police said. It exempts used car dealers, charities such as Goodwill and sellers of used books, clothing and furniture.

Lacerda of Manchester Music Mills said there’s an incentive for him not to buy stolen property. If police find a stolen item in his shop, they confiscate it, and Lacerda loses the money he paid for the instrument. Eight months ago he lost nearly $1,000 when police found five stolen guitars in his business. Such discoveries are rare, he added.

Last week, he paid $1,400 for a Gibson Les Paul on a trade-in from a well-known customer. Under the ordinance, he will have to keep it in storage for 30 days.

“When’s the money coming in? The city doesn’t get how it’s affecting small business,” Lacerda said.

mhayward@unionleader.com