That property which is owned by the City of Colby 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 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 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.
Quarterly reporting. Each department will file with the City Clerk-Treasurer
on a quarterly 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 Colby 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 Clerk-Treasurer.
The department head 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 City and the amount of the bid shall be forfeited to the City.
In the event no bids are received, the item shall be disposed of as
directed by the City Clerk-Treasurer.
The City Clerk-Treasurer shall, within 10 days of sale, auction or
accepting bids, advertise such sale, auction or bids in the official
newspaper of the City of Colby.
Whenever the fair market value of an item is $500 or less and has
been determined, pursuant to the previous subsection, that it is surplus
City property, the item shall be either disposed of as set forth 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.
Except for library materials used by the public library for lending
purposes, only the City Clerk-Treasurer 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 Clerk-Treasurer 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 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 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.
Vehicles. Vehicles shall be disposed of as set forth in the applicable provisions of Chapter 427, Vehicles, Abandoned and Junk, of this Code of Ordinances.
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,
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.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. II)]
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 City
employee finding property in the regular course of his employment.