[HISTORY: Adopted by the City Council of
the City of Weyauwega 5-21-2001 by Ord. No. 2001-01 as Title 3, Ch. 4
of the 2001 Code. Amendments noted where applicable.]
Surplus City property is that property which is owned
by the City of Weyauwega and which has no further usefulness to the
City. An item of property shall be considered to have no further usefulness
when:
Surplus property as defined in this chapter shall
not include land or buildings but shall include fixtures and such
salvage as may be taken from a building without structural damage
when such fixtures and salvage are not part of a demolition contract.
Surplus City property shall not include property which is obtained
by the City as a result of abandonment or loss by the property's original
owner. Surplus City property shall not include items of property which
are traded in for newer items. Surplus City property shall not include
library materials used by the public library for lending purposes.
Reporting. Each department will file with the City
Administrator on an annual basis a preprinted form stating what property
is currently held by each department and that property which is ready
for disposal.
All property owned by the City of Weyauwega which
is no longer used or is unclaimed property which has been surrendered
to various City departments, as well as other property which has been
confiscated by the Police Department, shall only be disposed of on
a quarterly basis as follows:
In the event of a public auction or sale by sealed
bid, the item will be sold in "as-is" condition to the person submitting
the highest bid; provided, however, that a lower bid submitted by
a nonprofit organization or governmental agency may be accepted by
the City Administrator. The department head responsible for the item
shall determine the time in which the successful bidder must remove
the item. In the event that the item is not removed within that time,
the item shall revert to the City and the amount of the bid shall
be forfeited to the City. In the event that no bids are received,
the item shall be disposed of as directed by the City Administrator.
The City Administrator may, within 10 days of sale,
auction or accepting bids, advertise such sale, auction or bids in
the official newspaper of the City of Weyauwega. Other appropriate
methods may be used to advertise such property at the discretion of
the City Administrator and/or Standing Committee.
Whenever the fair market value of an item is $500 or less and it has been determined, pursuant to Subsection B, that it is surplus City property, the item shall be either disposed of as set forth above or destroyed.
Monies from the sale of surplus property, including sales to individuals,
recycling or waste management companies, will be turned in to the
City Administrator and be recorded as miscellaneous income for the
prevailing department.
Determination of fair market values. Whenever this
chapter requires a determination of the fair market value of an item
of property, that determination shall be made by the department head
responsible for the property, whose decision shall be final.
Except for library materials used by the public library
for lending purposes, only the City Administrator may dispose of City
property which is not surplus City property.
Whenever this section provides for an auction or other
disposition of any property, the City Administrator shall be authorized
to hire an auctioneer or take such other action as is necessary to
properly dispose of the property; provided, however, that the fees
of such auctioneer and all such costs, other than those for City labor
and the use of City property, do not exceed the payment received by
the City from the auction or sale of the property.
Property which appears to be lost or abandoned, discovered
by officers or turned in to the Chief of Police by citizens, shall
be disposed of according to this section.
Lost and abandoned property will be examined by the
Chief of Police for identifying marks in an attempt to determine the
owner. If identifying marks are present, they shall be used by the
Chief of Police to attempt to contact the owner to return the property.
If no identifying marks are present, the property shall be taken into
custody by the Chief of Police.
No City employee shall keep for his or her own use
property found in the course of duty nor take possession of property
during off-duty hours when the discovery was made while on duty.
No City employee shall receive any lost, stolen, abandoned
or other unclaimed property from the Chief of Police unless that person
receives a written receipt signed by the Chief of Police, a copy of
which shall remain with the City Administrator.
Classes of property. All property which has been abandoned,
lost or remained unclaimed for a period of 30 days after the taking
of possession of the same by the City shall be disposed of as follows,
except that if the property is usable for City operations, the property
need not be sold at auction but may become the property of the City:
Firearms, ammunition and explosives. Firearms
or ammunition shall be returned to its rightful owner, destroyed,
or transferred to the State Crime Laboratory, the Division of Law
Enforcement Services of the Department of Justice, the Federal Bureau
of Investigation or the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
of the United States Department of Justice. Any explosive, flammable,
or other material proving a danger to life or property may be disposed
of immediately upon taking possession thereof. The Chief of Police
and the Fire Chief, after consulting with the County Sheriff's Department,
are hereby authorized to determine the disposal procedure; provided,
however, that any such procedure will attempt to return to its rightful
owner any such material which appears to have been stolen.
Lost property. Property which is found by persons
and delivered to the Chief of Police for the purpose of locating the
former owner shall not be considered abandoned or unclaimed under
this section until 30 days after mailing to the person finding the
property a notice that he/she may claim ownership of said property.
The Chief of Police shall determine what portion, if any, of the property
or its value shall be given the finder. This provision shall not apply
to any City employee finding property in the regular course of his
employment.