[HISTORY: Adopted by the Village Board of the Village of
Tigerton 4-5-1988 as Title 3, Ch. 4, of the 1988 Code. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Abandoned vehicles — See Ch. 511.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
Property which is owned by the Village of Tigerton, Wisconsin,
and which has no further usefulness to the Village of Tigerton. An
item of property shall be considered to have no further usefulness
when:
The item or its function has been totally replaced by other
Village property and no probable future function exists for it; or
The Village no longer performs the service for which the item
was purchased and no other service can reasonably be provided by the
item; or
The item is no longer able to reliably or economically perform
the work required of it.
"Surplus property," as defined in this article, 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. Surplus Village property shall
not include library materials used by the public library for lending
purposes.[1]
A.
Whenever the Village Board determines that an item of property is
surplus Village property, it shall dispose of such property as it
determines.
B.
Whenever the fair market value of an item is more than $500 and the
Village Board has determined that the item is surplus Village property,
the department head or official responsible for the items shall dispose
of the property by:
C.
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 or official responsible for the item shall
determine the time in which the successful bidder must remove the
item. In the event 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 no bids are received, the item shall
be disposed of as directed by the Village Board.
D.
No public auction or awarding of bids shall occur under this article
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 this article requires a determination of the fair market
value of an item of property, that determination shall be made by
the department head or official responsible for the property, whose
decision shall be final.
A.
Except for library materials used by the public library for lending
purposes, only the Village Board may dispose of Village property which
is not surplus Village property.
B.
Whenever this article 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.
A.
Property which appears to be lost or abandoned, discovered by officers
or turned in to the Police Department by citizens, shall be disposed
of according to this article.
B.
Lost and abandoned property will be examined by the Police Department
for identifying marks in an attempt to determine the owner. If identifying
marks are present, they shall be used by the Police Department to
attempt to contact the owner to return the property. If no identifying
marks are present, the property shall be turned over to the Police
Department.
C.
No police officer 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.
D.
The Police Department shall permit citizens to claim lost property
if they can provide sufficient proof that they are the rightful owners.
E.
No member of the Police Department or any other Village employee
shall receive any lost, stolen, abandoned or other unclaimed property
from the Police Department unless that person receives a written receipt
signed by the Chief of Police, a copy of which shall remain at the
Police Department.
A.
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.
(1)
Vehicles. Vehicles shall be disposed of as set forth in the applicable provisions of Chapter 511, Vehicles, Abandoned, of this Code.
(2)
Intoxicating liquor and fermented malt beverages. Intoxicating liquor
and fermented malt beverages shall be destroyed or sold by sealed
bids only to persons holding, respectively, "Class B" liquor or Class
"B" fermented malt beverage licenses.
(3)
Firearms, ammunition and explosives. Firearms or ammunition shall
be returned to their 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
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.
(4)
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.
(5)
Other property with a fair market value of over $100. An item of
property with a fair market value more than $100 shall be sold at
public auction or by sealed bid.
(6)
Illegal property. Property which cannot be legally possessed shall
be destroyed.
B.
Disposal by auction or sealed bid.
(1)
Whenever any property under this article is sold by public auction
or sale 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 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.
(2)
Any Village official selling property under this article 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.
C.
Lost property. Property which is found by persons and delivered to
the Village Police Department for the purpose of locating the former
owner shall not be considered abandoned or unclaimed under this article
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.
D.
Payment to Village treasury. All sums received from the sale of property
under this article shall be paid to the Village treasury.
