Butte County Municipal Code Art. XII Unclaimed Property in Possession of Sheriff

All unclaimed found property in the possession of the sheriff of the county shall be held by the sheriff for a period of at least three (3) months.

(Ord. No. 701, § 1; Ord. No. 826; Ord. No. 3920, § 2 (part), 1-24-06)

a. All unclaimed found property in possession of the sheriff of the county, at the expiration of three (3) months or thereafter may either be sold at public auction to the highest bidder for cash; and notice of the time and place of such sale shall be given by the sheriff at least five (5) days before the time fixed therefor, by publication once in a newspaper of general circulation published in the county; or the property may be transferred to the county purchasing agent for sale in the manner provided by Article 7 (commencing with Section 25500) of Chapter 5 of Part 2 of Division 2 of Title 3 of the Government Code for the sale of surplus personal property. If property is transferred to the county purchasing agent pursuant to this section, such property shall not be redeemable by the owner or other person entitled to possession. If the county purchasing agent determines that any such property transferred to it for sale is needed for a public use, such property may be retained by the agency and need not be sold.

b. Notwithstanding subsection a of this section, pursuant to section 217 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, any bicycles or toys, or both, in the possession of the sheriff of the county which have been unclaimed for a period of at least sixty (60) days may, instead of being sold at public auction to the highest bidder pursuant to the provisions of section 2080.5 of the Civil Code, be turned over to the probation officer, to the welfare department of the county, or to any charitable or nonprofit organization which is authorized under its articles of incorporation to participate in a program or activity designed to prevent juvenile delinquency and which is exempt from income taxation under federal or state law, or both, for use in any program or activity designed to prevent juvenile delinquency.

c. Nothing in this section shall preclude the sheriff of the county from disposing of abandoned and other unclaimed property in accordance with this section, or by any other means prescribed by law.

(Ord. No. 701, § 2; Ord. No. 826; Ord. No. 3260, § 1, 4-9-96; Ord. No. 3920, § 2 (part), 1-24-06)

All proceeds and receipts from any sale received by the sheriff shall forthwith be deposited in the county treasury.

(Ord. No. 701, § 4)

In the event of any such sale of unclaimed property pursuant to section 2-88 for which no bids are received, the sheriff of the county or the county purchasing agent may, in his or her discretion, destroy or retain such property and offer it for sale at a subsequent time, or dispose of such property to any fraternal, civic, religious or charitable organization or group.

(Ord. No. 701, § 3; Ord. No. 3920, § 2 (part), 1-24-06)

The sheriff and the county purchasing agent shall keep and maintain an accurate record of the disposition of all unclaimed property disposed of pursuant to the terms of this article.

(Ord. No. 701, § 5; Ord. No. 3920, § 2 (part), 1-24-06)

This article is enacted pursuant to the provisions of Civil Code section 2080 et seq., and section 1411 of the Penal Code and any amendments thereof.

(Ord. No. 701, § 6; Ord. No. 3261, § 1, 4-9-96; Ord. No. 3920, § 2 (part), 1-24-06)