Town of Sudbury, MA Chapter 72 Town Property

[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Meeting of the Town of Sudbury as Art. XII of the General Bylaws. Amendments noted where applicable.]

§ 72-1 Disposal of Town-owned personal property.

[Amended 10-16-2017 STM]

A. Any board or officer in charge of a department of the Town may, with the approval of the Town Manager for property having an aggregate value of less than $10,000* or with the approval of the Select Board for property having an aggregate value of $10,000* or more, transfer to another Town department or another municipality or transfer by sale any personal property of the Town, within the possession or control of the department, which has become obsolete or is not required for further use by the department or any other Town department; provided, however, that in the case of transfer by sale of such property which has, in the opinion of the Town Manager, an aggregate value in excess of $2,000, or in the case of transfer by sale of personal property (regardless of its value) which, in the opinion of the Select Board, the Historical Commission and the Committee for the Preservation and Management of Town Documents and is contained in a list maintained by them, is historically significant to the Town, the sale shall be by public bid in a manner prescribed by said Select Board; and provided, further, that in the case of transfer by sale of such historically significant property, the Select Board shall send advance written notice of such transfer by sale and such public bid to the Historical Commission and to the Committee for the Preservation and Management of Town Documents. For purposes of this Subsection A, all personal property located in the Hosmer House shall be deemed to be historically significant to the Town. The disposal of personal property with an estimated resale or salvage value of $10,000 or more shall also be in accordance with all requirements of General Laws, including but not limited to MGL c. 30B, § 15.

B. Procedures for disposition of surplus supplies valued at less than $10,000 can include any one or combination of the following methods:

(1) Advertised¹ solicitation of at least three oral or written quotations;

(2) Advertised¹ silent auction;

(3) Advertised¹ yard sale;

(4) Use of an established market, such as an online auction service (eBay, e.g.).

1	"Advertised" as used in these procedures for surplus supplies with a resale or salvage value of less than $10,000* means that the advertisement is posted for at least two weeks on the Town website and/or advertised at least twice in a newspaper of general circulation in the community.

*	The disposal and dollar threshold of these goods must conform to all Massachusetts General Laws, as amended.

§ 72-2 Sale of tax possession property.

A. The Select Board is hereby empowered to sell at public auction all or any of the Town property acquired by virtue of sale for nonpayment of taxes, which sales have been confirmed by the Land Court or the Commissioner of the Department of Revenue, and it is authorized to give deeds therefor.

[Amended 10-23-2023 STM by Art. 2]

B. The Select Board shall, not less than 21 days before such sale, file a notice thereof with the Town Clerk, who shall post a copy of the notice in the Town Hall. The Select Board shall also have a copy of the notice published, at least 21 days before such sale, in a newspaper having a circulation in the Town. Such notice shall contain a description of the property to be sold sufficient to identify it, shall state the date, time and place appointed for the sale thereof and the terms and conditions of such sale. Failure to send or post a notice as herein provided or any insufficiency in the notice sent or posted shall not invalidate the title to any property sold hereunder, provided the deed is approved by the Select Board. The Select Board may reject any and all bids at such sale or any adjournment thereof if, in its opinion, no bid is made which approximates the fair value of the property. No bid is accepted until the deed, drawn in accordance therewith, has been approved by the Select Board and accepted by the successful bidder.

[Amended 10-23-2023 STM by Art. 2]

C. The Select Board shall include, as a part of its report in the Annual Town Report, a listing, by parcel, of all property sold under this bylaw, which listing shall include the date of the sale, the name of the purchaser, a general description of the property sold and the sales price.

D. This bylaw shall not be construed to prevent the Town of Sudbury from disposing of such property under the provisions of MGL c. 40, § 3.

§ 72-3 Acceptance of gifts.

The Select Board may accept, from time to time, in behalf of the Town of Sudbury gifts of land and interest in land for the following purposes: walkway and sidewalk purposes, storm drainage and above- and belowground general drainage purposes, for slope maintenance purposes, for the purposes of rounding street corners and for any purpose approved by the Planning Board and shown on a plan approved by the Planning Board under MGL c. 41, § 81K to 81Y, inclusive.