City of Monroe, MI Chapter 514 Property, Abandoned

[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Council of the City of Monroe as Chapter 660, Sec. 660.10, of the 1995 Codified Ordinances of Monroe. Amendments noted where applicable.]

§ 514-1 Unclaimed property.

Any personal property which may come into the possession of the City and remain unclaimed for a period of two months shall be considered as abandoned property and shall be disposed of as provided in this chapter.

§ 514-2 Custody of property.

A. The Chief of Police or his or her designee is hereby named as custodian of all personal property coming into the possession of the City.

B. The duties of the Chief of Police or his or her designee shall be as follows:

(1) Provide for proper storage of such property until the same shall have been disposed of as provided in this chapter.

(2) Maintain proper written records of such personal property and provide a duplicate of such record for the Clerk/Treasurer.

(3) Send a notice by first class mail to any known legal owner of collectible currency, currency, evidence, perishable property, or property of major value, to the last known address of record. The notice shall contain the following information:

(a) The date the property was found.

(b) The type of property found.

(c) The address where the property is located.

(d) The cost of storage per day, if any.

(e) A statement that the property must be claimed within six months of the date of the letter or the property shall be considered abandoned and disposed of under the provisions of this chapter.

(f) The name of the law enforcement agency, together with its address and telephone number, where the legal owner can obtain the property.

C. Property described in Subsection B(3) hereof that is not claimed within six months after the date of the notice may be disposed of pursuant to § 514-4 hereof.

D. The City shall be reimbursed for the expenses of storage of such property, if any, by the owner claiming such property.

§ 514-3 Auction sale; notice.

A. The Chief of Police shall periodically arrange for auction sales for disposition of any such unclaimed property. He or she or his or her designee shall act as auctioneer at such sales and shall sell such property at public auction at the best price possible.

B. All proceeds of the sale shall be promptly turned over to the Clerk/Treasurer and shall become the property of the City.

C. The Chief of Police or his or her acting designee shall establish the time and place of all auction sales and shall cause notice of such auction sales to be published in two consecutive issues of a newspaper of general circulation in Monroe County.

D. The notice shall be published a minimum of two weeks before the date of the auction sale.

§ 514-4 Disposition of unclaimed property.

A. Collectible currency, currency, perishable property and property of major value that is not claimed as provided under § 514-2C hereof shall be disposed of by the Police Department as follows:

(1) Unless the finder of the property cannot be located or does not want the property, return the property to the finder.

(2) If the finder of the property cannot be located or does not want the property, do one of the following:

(a) Retain the property for use by the Police Department.

(b) Sell the property at a public sale and deposit the money from the sale in the general fund of the City.

(c) Release the property to a charitable organization, as defined in Section 2 of the Charitable Organizations and Solicitations Act, Act 169 of the Public Acts of 1975, as amended, being MCLA § 400.272.

B. Property located in an abandoned vehicle shall be kept in a place of safekeeping. If the legal owner of the property is not located when the vehicle has been disposed of under the provisions regarding abandoned vehicles in the Michigan Vehicle Code, Act. 300 of the Public Acts of 1949, as amended, being MCLA §§ 257.1 to 257.923, the property shall be classified under MCLA § 434.22(2), i.e., collectible currency; contraband; currency; evidence; hazardous material; junk; perishable property; property of major value; property of minor value.

§ 514-5 Records.

A. The Clerk/Treasurer shall keep a permanent bound record, including a duplicate of the form provided by the Chief of Police with the information contained thereon, the amount received for the property at the sale and the date of the sale.

B. The Chief of Police or his or her acting designee shall issue bills of sale and other such papers as may be necessary to clarify the title for purchases of property, if required by the purchaser.

§ 514-6 Limitation on claims.

No claim for property which comes within the possession of the City shall be valid if it is not made before the day of the sale.

§ 514-7 Exclusions.

This chapter is not intended to cover motor vehicles, the disposition of which is covered by the statutes of the state.