Alameda Municipal Code § 2-65 Disposition of Property

In this section:

Finance Director means the City Chief Financial Officer or his or her designee.

Surplus property means and includes surplus, damaged or inoperative goods, supplies or equipment.

Unclaimed property means and includes lost, stolen and unclaimed property.

(Ord. No. 2949 N.S. § 2)

The Chief of Police and the Public Works Superintendent—Maintenance Services Division shall, at the expiration of each fiscal year, make a report to the Council of all unclaimed property which may be in their possession or under their control. Within thirty (30) days after the date of the report, the Chief and Superintendent shall turn over the property and money mentioned in the report to the Finance Director, who shall issue a receipt for it. (See also Section 2-63 regarding lost, stolen and unclaimed property received by the Police Department.)

(Ord. No. 2949 N.S. § 2)

A department wishing to dispose of surplus property should contact the Finance Director. Disposal of surplus property must be preceded by a disposal form in order to dispose of the asset.

(Ord. No. 2949 N.S. § 2)

The Finance Director is responsible for the disposal of unclaimed and surplus property under this section. The Director has the authority to dispose of surplus and unclaimed property by any of the following methods, in his or her discretion:

a. Retained by the City when the Director determines there is a need for it;

b. Transferred to a nonprofit corporation which has either received a grant from the City to provide public services or has entered into a written agreement with the City;

c. Sold, following the procedures set forth in Section 2-65.5.

Unclaimed and surplus property may not be sold or transferred to City employees other than at auction open to the general public, or with approval of the City Council.

(Ord. No. 2949 N.S. § 2)

a. Authority to Sell. The Finance Director shall from time to time sell all unclaimed and surplus property in his or her possession, unless such property is to be retained by the City or transferred to a nonprofit corporation under Section 2-65.3(b).

b. Notice of the Sale. Notice of the sales shall be published for ten (10) days before the time of sale in the official newspaper of the City. The notice shall specify the time and place of sale and briefly describe the property to be sold. When the Finance Director knows the name and address of the owner of any unclaimed property, he or she shall also mail a notice of the sale to the owner at least five (5) days before the time of sale.

c. Delay in Selling; Notice. If for any reason any of the property is not sold at the time set for the sale, the sale of that property may be postponed from day to day for a period of time not longer than ten (10) days. The Director shall post notice of the postponement at the place of sale.

d. Sale to Highest Bidder. The Finance Director shall sell at auction, to the highest bidder, for lawful money, the property described in the advertisement, at the time and place designated.

e. Costs. The Finance Director shall pay the costs of storage, advertising and sale from the proceeds.

(Ord. No. 2949 N.S. § 2)

The Finance Director shall deposit the proceeds of the sale of unclaimed or surplus property into the General Fund, or the fund from which the property was originally purchased, except that the proceeds from the sale of unclaimed property shall first be retained for one year (after having paid the expenses for storage, advertising and sale), and those proceeds are subject to any lawful claim which may be made by the owner of the property.

(Ord. No. 2949 N.S. § 2)