Mendocino County Municipal Code Ch. 8.24 Lost and Unclaimed Property

This chapter shall be known as the Mendocino County Lost and Unclaimed Property Ordinance.

(Ord. No. 1037, adopted 1972, as amended by Ord. No. 1711, adopted 1976.)

The intent of the Board of Supervisors in adopting this chapter is to provide procedures for the care, restitution, sale, and destruction of lost or unclaimed property in the possession of the Sheriff's Department.

(Ord. No. 1711, adopted 1976.)

The authority for the Board of Supervisors to adopt this chapter is set forth in Sections 2080, et seq., of the California Civil Code.

(Ord. No. 1711, adopted 1976.)

"Lost and unclaimed property" in this chapter means personal property of others taken into the possession of the Sheriff's Department, left in its possession, or turned over to it by persons who found or received the same, except the following:

(A) Property subject to confiscation under the law of this state or of the United States.

(Ord. No. 1711, adopted 1976.)

(B) Vehicles, the storage, sale, or disposition of which is governed by the provisions of Chapter 15.28 of the Mendocino County Code.

(Ord. No. 1711, adopted 1976.)

Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, all unclaimed property in the possession of the Sheriff's Department shall be held and stored by the Sheriff for a period of at least three (3) months.

(Ord. No. 1711, adopted 1976, as amended by Ord. No. 3579, Sec. 1, adopted 1985.)

The Sheriff shall restore unclaimed property in his possession to its legal owner upon proof of such ownership satisfactory to him and upon the payment of all reasonable necessary costs incurred in the care and protection thereof and cost of publication, if any. Where any such property may be needed or required as evidence in any criminal proceeding, the Sheriff shall delay the restoration of such property to its legal owner until the conclusion of such proceedings. If such property is introduced as evidence in a criminal case, it shall be disposed of only upon order of the proper court. If the legal owner is a person prohibited by law from possessing such property, restoration shall not be made.

(Ord. No. 1711, adopted 1976.)

Where lost money or other lost personal property is found or saved by a person other than in the course of employment as an employee of any public agency and is turned over to the Sheriff's Department in accordance with the provisions of the Civil Code of the State of California, or otherwise, and no owner appears and proves his ownership of such property within ninety (90) days thereafter, the Sheriff's Department shall, if such property is of a value of Fifty Dollars ($50.00) or more, cause to be published at least once in a newspaper of general circulation notice of the found or saved property. If, after seven (7) days following the first publication of the notice, no owner appears and proves his ownership of the property, the property shall be returned to the finder on payment of all reasonable charges, including cost of publication. The Sheriff's Department may require the finder to deposit with it an amount sufficient to cover the cost of publication before so proceeding. Where such property is of a value of less than Fifty Dollars ($50.00), it may be returned to the finder without publication of notice after expiration of the minimum applicable holding period specified in Section 8.24.050 of this chapter if no owner appears and proves his ownership of the property. The provisions of this section shall not apply where the finder is a person prohibited by law from possessing such property.

(Ord. No. 1711, adopted 1976, as amended by Ord. No. 3579, Sec. 2, adopted 1985.)

Any bicycles or toys, or both, in the possession of the Sheriff's Department which have been unclaimed for a period of at least three (3) months 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 of, or to the Social Services Department of, the County of Mendocino for use in any program of activities designed to prevent juvenile delinquency. The Sheriff shall establish procedures for periodically notifying said Probation Officer and Social Services Department of such bicycles and toys and shall equitably determine, in his discretion, their allocation.

(Ord. No. 1711, adopted 1976.)

Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions, when any unclaimed property in the possession of the Sheriff's Department is in danger of perishing or of losing the greater part of its value, or when the reasonably necessary costs incurred in the care and protection of any such property amount to two thirds ( 2 / 3 ) of its value, the Sheriff's Department may sell such property by public auction in the manner and upon the notice of sale of personal property under execution, if it is a thing which is commonly the subject of sale, when the owner cannot, with reasonable diligence, be found or, being found, refuses upon demand to pay the reasonably necessary costs incurred in the care and protection thereof.

(Ord. No. 1711, adopted 1976.)

All unclaimed property received by the Sheriff's Department shall be offered for sale at public auction to the highest bidder except as follows:

(A) It 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 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 or department and need not be sold.

(Ord. No. 1711, adopted 1976.)

(B) Unclaimed property having no monetary value shall be destroyed unless some other disposition can be made of such property which would be in the public interest.

(Ord. No. 1711, adopted 1976.)

(C) Unclaimed property of a type or kind for which a permit or license to sell the same is required by state or federal law shall be destroyed unless some other disposition can be made of such property which would be in the public interest.

(Ord. No. 1711, adopted 1976.)

Before offering any unclaimed property for sale, the Sheriff's Department shall publish at least once in a newspaper of general circulation published in the County a notice of its intention to sell such unclaimed property at public auction to the highest bidder at the time and place therein specified. Such notice shall be made at least five (5) days in advance of the public auction.

(Ord. No. 1711, adopted 1976.)

Items offered for sale at public auction shall be sold to the highest bidder. Where the particular item offered for sale is one which certain persons are prohibited by law from possessing, using, or consuming, such person shall not be permitted to participate in the bidding on such items.

(Ord. No. 1711, adopted 1976.)

Proceeds received from the sale of unclaimed property by the Sheriff's Department shall be delivered to the County Treasurer for deposit in the general fund.

(Ord. No. 1711, adopted 1976.)

The expenses connected with a sale of unclaimed property by the Sheriff's Department shall be a proper charge against the County general fund.

(Ord. No. 1711, adopted 1976.)