Williams Municipal Code Ch. 2.44 Disposition of Unclaimed Property in Possession of City Police Department

This chapter shall apply to all forms of personal property, except for the following:

A. Personal property seized or confiscated by the city police department pursuant to state or federal law;

B. Personal property that is alleged to have been stolen or embezzled, the storage, sale and other disposition of which is governed by California Penal Code Sections 537e(b) and 1407 et seq.;

C. Personal property that has been intentionally abandoned by its owner; and

D. Motor vehicles, the storage, sale and other disposition of which is governed by the California Code.

(Ord. 104-98 § 2(part), 1998).

Except where a different meaning is expressly given the following definitions shall apply to the terms used in this chapter:

A. "Finder" means a person, other than the legal owner, who delivers personal property subject to this chapter to the city police department.

B. "Legal owner" means a person or entity that holds an ownership interest in personal property subject to this chapter.

C. "Police chief" means the police chief of the city of Williams police department or his or her designee.

D. "Police department" means the city of Williams police department.

E. "Unclaimed property" means personal property of other persons or entities that is delivered to, or taken into, possession of the police department in the course of its law enforcement activities.

(Ord. 104-98 § 2(part), 1998).

A. The police chief shall create an unclaimed property control system for tracking the receipt, storage and disposition of unclaimed property delivered to, or taken into, possession of the police department. Under the unclaimed property control system, the police chief shall record the following information: (1) time and date of delivery of the unclaimed property to, or acquisition of unclaimed property by, the police department; (2) description of the unclaimed property; (3) circumstances under which the unclaimed property was found or taken; (4) name of the officer or employee of the police department who received the unclaimed property; and (5) final disposition of the unclaimed property.

B. On or before January 1st of each year, the police chief shall present to the city council an annual unclaimed property control report. The report shall describe: (1) all unclaimed property held by the police department for more than ninety days during the preceding calendar year; (2) final disposition of such unclaimed property; (3) costs for storage and care of the unclaimed property and for publication of notice under this chapter; and (4) amount of any proceeds collected from a sale of the unclaimed property.

(Ord. 104-98 § 2(part), 1998).

A. If any person finds or saves property valued at one hundred dollars or more in the city, and no legal owner is known or has made a claim for the property, the person who found or saved the property shall deliver it to the police department within a reasonable time pursuant to Civil Code Section 2080.1.

B. Property for which no legal owner is known or has made a claim and that is delivered or taken into possession of the police department shall be considered unclaimed property subject to disposition under this chapter. Upon accepting such unclaimed property, the receiving officer or employee of the police department shall enter the property into the unclaimed property control system.

C. If a finder of unclaimed property wishes to retrieve the unclaimed property in the event that the legal owner does not retrieve it in accordance with this chapter, then the finder shall submit a written claim, on a form provided by the police chief, at the time that the finder delivers the property to the police department.

(Ord. 104-98 § 2(part), 1998).

A. All unclaimed property that is illegal contraband or that constitutes a public nuisance shall be destroyed or disposed of by the police chief according to applicable law, unless the police chief determines that the public interest would be served by retaining the unclaimed property. In no case shall such unclaimed property be returned to the legal owner or finder of the property or offered for sale at a public auction.

B. This section shall not apply to weapons described in Penal Code Section 12028, which weapons shall be disposed of in accordance with that code section.

(Ord. 104-98 § 2(part), 1998).

Unclaimed property in the possession of the police department that is evidence in a criminal proceeding shall be retained by the police department in a secured, separate evidence storage area. Such unclaimed property shall not be returned to the legal owner or the finder, offered for sale at a public auction, or otherwise disposed of under this chapter until the criminal proceeding and all appeals are concluded, unless earlier disposition is ordered by the court having jurisdiction over the proceeding.

(Ord. 104-98 § 2(part), 1998).

A. Except as provided in Sections 2.44.050 and 2.44.060, unclaimed property in the possession of the police department shall be held for ninety days, during which period the unclaimed property may be retrieved by its legal owner. During this ninety-day period, the police chief shall make reasonable efforts to notify the legal owner that the unclaimed property is available for retrieval.

B. If the legal owner of unclaimed property in the possession of the police department appears at the police department to retrieve the property within the ninety-day period described in subsection (A) of this section, then the police chief shall immediately release the property upon the legal owner's presentation of proof of ownership and payment of a fee in the amount of the police department's costs for storage and care of the property.

C. If unclaimed property in the possession of the police department is valued at two hundred fifty dollars or more and no legal owner retrieves the property within the ninety-day period described in subsection (A) of this section, then the police chief shall publish a description of the property at least once in the Colusa Sun Herald or another newspaper of general circulation published in Colusa County. If the legal owner of the unclaimed property appears at the police department to retrieve the property within seven days after the publication, then the police chief shall immediately release the property upon the legal owner's presentation of proof of ownership and payment of fees in the amounts of the police department's costs for storage and care of the property and for publication of the notice under this subsection.

(Ord. 104-98 § 2(part), 1998).

A. If the finder of unclaimed property valued at two hundred fifty dollars or more completes a claim form when he or she delivers the property to the police department, the police chief shall notify the finder immediately if the legal owner fails to retrieve the property within seven days after notice is published pursuant to Section 2.44.070(C). If the finder appears at the police department to retrieve the property within seven days after the finder receives notice, then the police chief shall immediately release the property upon the finder's payment of a fee in the amount of the police department's cost for publication of notice under Section 2.44.070(C) of this chapter.

B. If the finder of unclaimed property valued at less than two hundred fifty dollars completes a claim form when he/she delivers the property to the police department, the police department shall notify the finder immediately if the legal owner fails to retrieve the property during the ninety-day period described above in Section 2.44.070(A) of this chapter. If the finder appears at the police department to retrieve the property within seven days after the finder receives notice, then the police chief shall immediately release the property to the finder.

C. If the unclaimed property is not retrieved by the finder within the applicable seven-day period, the finder may not thereafter retrieve it.

D. This section shall not apply to any unclaimed property that was found in the course of employment by an employee of a public agency, or where the finder of unclaimed property is prohibited by law from possessing, using or consuming the property, in which case the unclaimed property shall be sold at a public auction pursuant to Section 2.44.100 of this chapter after expiration of the time periods provided above in Section 2.44.070 of this chapter.

(Ord. 104-98 § 2(part), 1998).

Notwithstanding Sections 2.44.070 and 2.44.080 of this chapter, the police chief may immediately dispose of unclaimed property by public auction pursuant to Section 2.44.100 if all of the following criteria are met:

A. The legal owner of the property cannot be found with reasonable diligence or refuses to pay the charges imposed by the police department;

B. The property is a thing that commonly is sold; and

C. The property is in danger of perishing or losing a majority of its value, or the charges estimated to accrue under Section 2.44.070 would amount to two-thirds of the property's value or more.

(Ord. 104-98 § 2(part), 1998).

All unclaimed property in the possession of the police department that has not been disposed of under Sections 2.44.070 through 2.44.090 shall be disposed of pursuant to this section.

A. All unclaimed property shall be offered for sale by the police chief at a public auction to the highest bidder, except as follows:

1. Unclaimed property that is money shall be deposited into the general fund.

2. Pursuant to Welfare and Institutions Code Section 217, unclaimed property that is bicycles or toys, or both, may be transferred to a probation officer, the welfare department of Colusa County, or any tax-exempt charitable or nonprofit organization that is authorized to provide programs for prevention of juvenile delinquency.

3. Unclaimed property that the police chief determines is needed for public use by the city shall be retained by the city.

4. Unclaimed property having no or negligible monetary value shall be destroyed, unless the police chief determines that some other disposition of the property would serve the public interest.

B. At least five days before offering any unclaimed property for sale at a public auction, the police chief shall publish at least once in the Colusa Sun Herald, or in another newspaper of general circulation published in Colusa County, a notice of intention to sell the unclaimed property at a public auction to the highest bidder. The published notice shall briefly describe each item of unclaimed property to be sold at the public auction and shall state the time, date and location of the public auction.

C. At the time, date and location stated in the notice, the police chief shall conduct a public auction for sale of the items of unclaimed property described in the notice. All items shall be sold to the highest bidder, except that no bids shall be accepted for any item by persons who are prohibited by law from possessing, using or consuming the item.

D. All proceeds received from the sale of unclaimed property at the public auction shall be delivered to the city clerk for deposit into the general fund, less all expenses incurred for the public auction.

E. The police chief shall dispose of all unclaimed property remaining unsold after the public auction in manner that serves the public interest.

(Ord. 104-98 § 2(part), 1998).