Do you have property you no longer use or need? I think we all have a surplus problem in some form and we go about getting rid of it periodically by donation to a charity or a garage sale or other such means. Cities are no different in that we accumulate goods that no longer meet our needs. We also receive lost property or property due to forfeiture.
As a public body it is difficult to donate to a charity as we have a responsibility to the tax payer. Disposal of property is somewhat dictated by state law requiring the city to seek revenue out of these situations. State law requires that a city establish ordinances giving direction for disposal and sale.
Recently our code was reviewed and found to be very dated. Both the threshold and the process were difficult to deal with. Items over a $100 and under $500 had to be disposed of by auction. Items over $500 were to be disposed of by sealed bids. The process needed to be more flexible. The dollar amounts also needed to be more flexible.
A change in the code was proposed to provide for a negotiated sale of up to $1000 in proposed value. Over that threshold goods could be sold by auction in either a live or online format or by sealed bids.
Disposing of excess property is now streamlined and hopefully we’ll be able to lighten the baggage of surplus and improve the bottom line in the process.
