A moratorium on new pawn shops may remain in place in the largest city in western Massachusetts.
A two- year ban on issuing new pawn shop licenses in Springfield is set to expire this July, unless the city council votes to extend it.
Councilor Tom Ashe said the public safety committee is going to hold a series of public hearings across the city before making a recommendation on whether the moratorium should remain in effect.
"It is my opinion that what we have done has had a positive impact on public safety and the number of pawn shops we ( currently) have is adequate," said Ashe.
At the urging of police who said it would help with the recovery of stolen property, the council two years ago put tougher regulations on pawn shops concerning record keeping and how long pawned items must be held before being put up for sale.
