Surplus Village property is that property which is
owned by the Village of Siren and which has no further usefulness
to the Village. An item of property shall be considered to have no
further usefulness when:
Surplus property as defined in this section 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 Village property shall not include property which is obtained
by the Village as a result of abandonment or loss by the property's
original owner. Surplus Village property shall not include items of
property which are traded in for newer items.[1]
Whenever an item of Village property is determined
to be surplus Village property on the basis that the Village no longer
performs the service for which the item was purchased, the Village
Board shall determine whether or not the item is surplus Village property.
Whenever the fair market value of an item is more than $500 and the Village Board has determined, pursuant to Subsection B, that the item is surplus Village property, the department head responsible for the items shall dispose of the property by:
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 Village Board. 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 Village and the amount of the bid shall
be forfeited to the Village. In the event that no bids are received,
the item shall be disposed of as directed by the Village Board.
No public auction or awarding of bids shall occur
under this section unless a description of the item to be sold and
an advance notice of the time and place for such auction or bid submission
is first published as a Class 2 notice in the official Village newspaper.
Whenever the fair market value of an item is $500 or less and the Village Board has determined, pursuant to Subsection B, that it is surplus Village property, the item shall be either disposed of as set forth in Subsection C(2) above or destroyed.
Determination of fair market values. Whenever this
section 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.
Whenever this section provides for an auction or other
disposition of any property, the Village Board 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 Village
labor and the use of Village property, do not exceed the payment received
by the Village 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 Village employee shall keep for his or her own
use property found in the course of duty or take possession of property
during off-duty hours when the discovery was made while on duty.
No Village 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 Clerk-Treasurer.
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 Village shall be disposed of as follows,
except that if the property is usable for Village operations, the
property need not be sold at auction but may become the property of
the Village:
Firearms, ammunition and explosives. Firearms
or ammunition shall be returned to its rightful owner, destroyed,
or transferred to the state crime laboratories, 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 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.[1]
Other property with a fair market value of $100
or less. An item of property with a fair market value of $100 or less
shall be destroyed or sold at public auction. Perishable property
which deteriorates to a fair market value of less than $100 shall
be destroyed.
Other property with a fair market value of over
$100. An item of property with a fair market value of more than $100
shall be sold at public auction or by sealed bid.
Whenever any property under this section is
sold by public auction or sale or by sealed bid, such auction or the
awarding of bids shall be preceded by a Class 2 notice describing
the property and arranging the time and place for the auction or bid
submission; such notice shall be published in the official Village
newspaper. The property auctioned or sold by sealed bid shall be sold
in as-is condition to the highest bidder. No sale or auction shall
occur until the Chief of Police has determined that the property has
no value to any probable investigation or legal proceeding. The department
head responsible for the property shall determine the time in which
the successful bidder shall remove the property. In the event that
the property is not removed within that time, the property shall revert
to the Village and the amount of the bid shall be forfeited to the
Village.
Any Village official selling property under
this section shall maintain for two years an inventory of any property
not disposed of by auction or sale by sealed bid and shall include
a record of the date and method of disposal, any payment received
for the property, and the name and address of the person acquiring
the property.
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 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 Village employee finding property in the regular course of
his employment.