1.55.090 Disposition of Surplus Personal Property.
A. Personal property owned by the City and under the dollar value of $5,000 may be declared surplus and disposed of with the approval of any department head or the City Manager. Personal property with a value of less than $25,000 may be disposed of only after being declared surplus by the City Manager. Personal property with a value greater than $25,000 may be declared surplus and disposed of only with the approval of the City Council or if beyond an adopted replacement schedule. No personal property shall be declared surplus if the property is usable and needed by any City department. The method of disposal will be determined based on condition, value, demand, and/or use. Personal property may be declared surplus if it is scheduled for replacement in an adopted budget or it is no longer necessary to provide City services.
B. When the current market value of an item is estimated to be more than $25,000, the personal property must be disposed of in a competitive process that includes at least one notice published in a local newspaper. The City at its discretion may choose between sealed written bids, a public auction, an Internet auction, or some other process that allows competitive bidding. If no bids are received or if a determination is made that the market value of the property exceeds the offer of the highest responsible bidder, all bids may be rejected, and the City may negotiate a sale subject to the following conditions:
1. An appraisal of the market value of the property is obtained and documented, and the negotiated sale price meets or exceeds the market value; or
2. The sale amount exceeds the highest bid received through the bidding or auction process.
C. The City may sell personal property whose value is estimated to be less than $25,000 by any means calculated to achieve the best net result to the City.
D. City employees who have participated in the process of declaring goods to be surplus may not purchase or otherwise acquire surplus goods from the City. Other City employees may not purchase or otherwise acquire surplus goods until the general public has a reasonable opportunity to bid on, purchase or otherwise acquire the goods. Departments may adopt additional rules relating to the acquisition of surplus goods by City employees.
E. The City may retain one or more agents to sell surplus personal property if the selection of the agent was conducted by a competitive request for proposal process.
F. The City may, with the approval of the City Manager and without a competitive process, transfer surplus personal property with or without remuneration to the following entities:
1. Another public agency;
2. Any sheltered workshop, work activity center or group care home which operates under contract or agreement with, or grant from, any State agency and which is certified to receive Federal surplus property;
3. Any private, nonprofit social or health service activity or entity; or
4. Any other recognized nonprofit activity that is certified to receive Federal surplus property.
G. The City may give away surplus personal property to the public at no charge on a first-come, first-served basis for property that it would otherwise pay to dispose of. A City employee may take property under this provision only after it has been available to the public for a reasonable period of time (15 minutes if widely publicized in advance, one working day if not publicized in advance).
H. The City may trade personal property owned by the City to other government agencies or to other entities provided the following conditions apply:
1. Trades to other government agencies must be approved in writing by the City Manager.
2. Trades of personal property with parties other than government agencies must proceed as follows:
a. The market value of both the item to be given and the item to be received must be documented.
b. The proposal to trade an item for another item must be made available to an adequate number of other potential traders to encourage competition.
c. The trade must be approved by the City Manager.
I. If the City is purchasing new goods or equipment to replace existing goods or equipment and the seller accepts trade-ins, the City may trade in the old equipment in order to get a reduction in the price of the new goods without going through any process for the sale of the used goods.
J. The City may dispose of surplus property that has no monetary value or that has a monetary value insufficient to cover the costs of a sale by disposing of the property as waste. Property that would otherwise be disposed of as waste may be made available to the public at no charge or at a minimal charge.
K. All personal property sold or otherwise disposed of by the City shall be sold as-is without any warranty of any kind. Goods sold through an auction or other third-party seller shall be provided along with a bill of sale or receipt disclaiming all warranties. [Ord. NS-2159, 2011; Ord. NS-2145, 2010]