Chapter 3.30
DISPOSITION OF LOST, STOLEN OR UNCLAIMED PROPERTY
Sections:
3.30.020 Chief of police as custodian.
3.30.030 Duty of city employee on receiving property.
3.30.040 Audit by finance director.
3.30.050 Disposition of stolen property.
3.30.060 Disposition of unclaimed property.
3.30.070 Authority of custodian.
3.30.080 Delivery to city manager for disposition.
3.30.090 Disposition of dangerous or unusable property.
3.30.120 Notice of public auction.
3.30.150 Vesting quick sale proceeds.
3.30.010 Definitions.
The following words and phrases whenever used in this chapter shall be construed as defined in this section unless from the context a different meaning is intended:
“Quick sale property” is all that property subject to the provisions of Section 2080.5 of the Civil Code of the state of California.
“Stolen property” means property or money coming into the custody of a city employee while in the course of such employment which has been stolen or embezzled or which is alleged or suspected to have been stolen or embezzled.
“Unclaimed property” is all of that lost or misplaced money or property which has come into the possession of a city employee while in the course of such employment; and
(1) Which remains unclaimed by the owner thereof for more than three months after the property came into the possession of the city employee; and
(2) Which remains unclaimed by the owner thereof after the notice and time limits provided in Section 2080.3 of the Civil Code of the state of California, if longer than the time provided in subsection (1) of this definition; and
(3) The title to which, if the property was not found in the course of employment by an employee of any public agency, is waived by the finder either in writing or by the finder’s failure to appear, pay the costs required, and take possession of the property within five days after notice to do so. Such notice shall be sufficient if deposited in the United States mail addressed to the finder’s address given at the time the property was delivered to the city.
Unclaimed property does not, however, include “quick sale” property as defined herein. [Ord. 686-09, 9-8-09].
3.30.020 Chief of police as custodian.
The chief of police shall be the custodian of all lost, stolen and unclaimed property which may now be in the possession or under the control of the chief of police, or which may hereafter come into the possession of any city employee. [Ord. 686-09, 9-8-09].
3.30.030 Duty of city employee on receiving property.
Every city employee, upon taking or receiving any money or property into custody, while in the course of such employment, shall forthwith deliver such money or property to the chief of police who shall particularly register the following information regarding all such property which is delivered to or received by the chief of police: the name and address of the person from whom the property or money shall have been taken; by whom it was delivered; the name of all reputed owners and claimants of such money or property; the date and time of receipt, and the final disposition thereof. With respect to such property, the chief of police shall take and keep the affidavit as required and provided for in Section 2080.1 of the Civil Code of the state of California. [Ord. 686-09, 9-8-09].
3.30.040 Audit by finance director.
The records of the chief of police regarding the registration of any lost, stolen, or unclaimed property coming into the chief of police’s possession and the disposition thereof shall be made available to the finance director for an audit at the time such property is transferred to the city manager for disposition in accordance with the provisions of this chapter. [Ord. 686-09, 9-8-09].
3.30.050 Disposition of stolen property.
Stolen property shall be disposed of as provided in Chapter 12 entitled “Disposal of Property Stolen or Embezzled” of Title 10 entitled “Miscellaneous Proceedings” of Part 2 entitled “Criminal Procedure” of the Penal Code of the state of California, commencing with Section 1407 of said Code, as the same may from time to time be amended. [Ord. 686-09, 9-8-09].
3.30.060 Disposition of unclaimed property.
Unclaimed and quick sale property shall be disposed of as provided in Article I entitled “Lost Money and Goods” of Chapter 4 entitled “Lost and Unclaimed Property” of Title VI entitled “Service” of Part 4 entitled “Obligations Arising from Particular Transactions” of Division Three of the Civil Code of the state of California, commencing with Section 2080 of said code as the same may from time to time be amended. The following regulatory provisions of this chapter are adopted pursuant to the authority granted in Section 2080.6 of said code. [Ord. 686-09, 9-8-09].
3.30.070 Authority of custodian.
The city manager may appoint a custodian of such property who shall have the power and authority to perform all of the acts herein below required to be performed by the city manager including, but not limited to, receipt of property, conducting of sales, giving of notice of sales, establishing minimum prices, delivery of proceeds to the finance director and reporting upon the sales, all of which duties shall be performed on behalf of and it shall be deemed to be the performance of the city manager. Such custodian’s authority shall not be greater than the authority of the city manager hereunder and may be limited by the city manager to less than all of the authority granted to the city manager hereunder. [Ord. 686-09, 9-8-09].
3.30.080 Delivery to city manager for disposition.
All unclaimed property which is not vested in a finder shall, upon expiration of the time limits for the claiming or vesting of such property, be delivered to the city manager who shall dispose of the same as follows:
(1) All money shall be deposited in the general fund of the city.
(2) All unclaimed property shall be sold by the city manager, or a city employee designated by the city manager, or a person hired by the city for the purpose of conducting such sale, at a public auction to the highest bidder. The proceeds of such sale shall be deposited in the general fund.
(3) All property remaining unsold after the sale may be retained for future sales, disposed of at private sales, destroyed, or otherwise disposed of as determined by the city manager in the city manager’s sole discretion.
(4) All property which the city manager determines is of public use, shall not be sold or disposed of pursuant to these provisions, but shall be delivered by the city manager to the city department, public agency, or private nonprofit corporation seeking to acquire and use such property for such public use. [Ord. 686-09, 9-8-09].
3.30.090 Disposition of dangerous or unusable property.
Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, the chief of police shall not be required to retain and deliver to the city manager property which the chief of police has determined is without value or is dangerous and such property may be disposed of or destroyed. Property which may be disposed of or destroyed pursuant to this section shall include, but not be limited to, keys, used clothing, items the retention of which would be a threat to the health or safety of the persons in charge of their storage and maintenance, and property which is damaged to such an extent that it is dangerous or unusable and irreparable. The chief of police shall maintain a record of each item of property which is disposed of or destroyed pursuant to this section, the method of disposition or destruction and the reason therefor and shall provide a report to the finance director containing that information at such times as any property which has been retained is transferred to the city manager for disposition in accordance with this chapter. [Ord. 686-09, 9-8-09].
3.30.100 Vesting in city.
Title to all unclaimed property shall, upon delivery to the city manager, vest in the city. [Ord. 686-09, 9-8-09].
3.30.110 Fixing date of sale.
The city manager may accumulate property on behalf of the city for a public auction sale and set the date of such sale so that a reasonable amount of property is available at the time of the sale. The city manager may divide such property into groups containing property of a similar size or characteristic, and conduct sales limited to a particular group. Notwithstanding the above, the city manager shall conduct at least one public auction sale per year covering all such property or groups of property. [Ord. 686-09, 9-8-09].
3.30.120 Notice of public auction.
Notice of the public auction sale shall be given by the city manager at least five days before the time fixed therefor by publication, once in a newspaper of general circulation published in this city. [Ord. 686-09, 9-8-09].
3.30.130 Minimum sale price.
The minimum sale price for property sold at a public auction or private sale shall be established by the city manager based upon the city manager’s best estimate of the market value of the property and the expenses incurred by the city for handling and selling said property to the extent reasonable. [Ord. 686-09, 9-8-09].
3.30.140 Report to council.
Within 30 days after each such auction sale, the city manager shall report to the city council concerning such sale, which report shall list the property sold, the purchase price received therefor, the expenses of such sale, and the net proceeds delivered to the city and deposited in the general fund. The city manager shall further annually report to the city council at its first regular meeting in August showing the disposition of all property delivered to the city manager which was not disposed of at public auction during the preceding fiscal year. [Ord. 686-09, 9-8-09].
3.30.150 Vesting quick sale proceeds.
The proceeds of the sale of all quick sale property shall be held by the chief of police in place of such property as though the same were money delivered to the police department at the time when such quick sale property came into the possession of said police department.
Said proceeds shall thereafter become unclaimed property and vest in the city as provided for moneys constituting unclaimed property. [Ord. 686-09, 9-8-09].