HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrdinance 5903 12/07/1998
ORDINANCE NO. ')IW1
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AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER TWO OF THE SPRINGFIELD MUNICIPAL
CODE PROVIDING FOR THE DISPOSITION OF UNCLAIMED PROPERTY BY THE
POLICE DEPARTMENT, AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY
THE COMMON COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SPRINGFIELD DOES ORDAIN AS
FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Section 2.754 of the Springfield Municipal Code is
amended in its entirety as follows:
2.754
Notices Before Sale or Conversion.
(1) Definition: As used in this section, the
term unclaimed property means personal property that
was seized as evidence, abandoned, found or stolen, and
has remained in the possession of the police department
for more than sixty days following conclusion of all
criminal actions related to the property or conclusion
of the investigation if no criminal action is filed.
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(2) All unclaimed property, excepting guns,
shall be disposed of in accordance with the procedures
in this section and in sections 2.756 and 2.758.
Unclaimed guns shall be disposed of in accordance with
the procedures for unclaimed property except as those
procedures are specifically modified by Section 2.760.
(3) The police department shall prepare an
inventory describing the unclaimed property and shall
prepare a notice of intent to dispose of the unclaimed
property. The notice shall be posted in three public
places within the City, and shall also be published in
a newspaper of general circulation in the City. The
notice shall include a description of the unclaimed
property as provided in the inventory, the address and
telephone number of the police department, and shall be
in substantially the following form:
NOTICE OF INTENT TO DISPOSE
OF UNCLAIMED PROPERTY
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THE SPRINGFIELD POLICE DEPARTMENT HAS IN ITS PHYSICAL
POSSESSION THE UNCLAIMED PERSONAL PROPERTY DESCRIBED
BELOW. IF YOU HAVE ANY OWNERSHIP INTEREST IN ANY OF
THAT UNCLAIMED PROPERTY, YOU MUST FILE A CLAIM WITH THE
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SPRINGFIELD POLICE DEPARTMENT WITHIN THIRTY DAYS FROM
THE DATE OF PUBLICATION OF THIS NOTICE, OR YOU WILL
LOSE YOUR INTEREST IN THAT PROPERTY.
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(4) If the police department has been able to
identify an owner, conditional vendor, mortgagee, or
other person that the police department has reason to
believe has an ownership or security interest in any of
the unclaimed property, the police department shall
send a copy of the notice of intent to dispose of the
unclaimed property to the identified person by regular
mail to the last known address of the person.
(5) No sale or conversion to public use of
unclaimed property shall take place until at least
thirty days have elapsed from the date that the notice
of intent to dispose of the unclaimed property has been
both posted in three pUblic places and published in the
newspaper, and the date the notice was mailed if a
mailed notice is required under subsection (4) of this
section.
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(6) In addition to the foregoing notice of
intent to dispose of unclaimed property, the police
department shall also publish a notice of sale. The
notice of sale shall announce that the unclaimed
property will be sold at public auction to the highest
and best bidder for cash, and shall specify the
location, day and time certain for the public auction.
The notice of sale shall be published at least two
times in a newspaper of general circulation in the
city. The first publication shall be not less than ten
days prior to the sale date, and the second publication
shall be not less than three days prior to the sale
date. If conversion of the unclaimed property to
public use is contemplated or intended, the notice of
sale shall include a statement that the City intends to
convert the unclaimed property to public use if such
use appears to be in the public interest.
Section 2. Section 2.756 of the Springfield Municipal Code is
amended in its entirety as follows:
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2.756
Surrender Before Sale or Conversion.
(1) If the owner, conditional vendor,
mortgagee or other person claiming an ownership or
security interest in the personal property or unclaimed
Ordinance 5903 Page Three
property submits a claim to the pOlice department for
the return of the property, and the claim is submitted
within the deadline stated in the notice of intent to
dispose of unclaimed property, and the chief of the
police department is satisfied that the claim is
rightful, then the police department shall surrender
the property to the person. The claimant may be
required to submit evidence of the interest in the
property and to tender the costs of seizing, storing,
and preparing for the sale of the property prior to the
property being surrendered to the claimant. If the
Chief of Police is not satisfied that the claim is
rightful, then the person shall be notified by regular
mail that the claim is being denied. If the claim is
denied, then no sale or conversion to public use of the
property shall occur until at least thirty days after
the date that the claim was denied and the notice of
denial mailed.
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(2) If within thirty days of the date the
claim was denied under subsection (1), the person files
a petition with the Lane County Circuit Court seeking
return of the property to the person, then the police
department shall hold the property pending receipt of
an order of the Court directing disposition of the
property or dismissing the petition or petitions with
prejudice.
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(3) If a claim is submitted to the police
department for the return of the property, and the
claim is submitted after the deadline stated in the
notice of intent to dispose of unclaimed property but
before a sale or conversion to public use has taken
place, then the Chief of Police shall have discretion
to surrender the property to the person, or deny the
claim and proceed with the scheduled sale or conversion
to public use of the property, or hold the property for
disposal at a later time, as the Chief of Police
determines to be appropriate.
Section 3. section 2.758 of the Springfield Municipal Code is
amended in its entirety as follows:
2.758
Sale or Conversion.
If no claims have been made before the time
set for the sale or conversion to public use of the
unclaimed property, or the claims have been denied in
accordance with section 2.756 and no petition is
pending in the Lane County Circuit Court, then the
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Ordinance 5903 Page Four
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police department shall at the location and on the day
and time designated in the notice of sale, and within
view of the property to be sold, offer for sale and
sell the property to the highest and best bidder for
cash. The police department may contract with a
private auctioneer to conduct the sale. The police
department may set a minimum bid on the property, in
which case, if no bid meets the minimum, the police
department may retain the property for disposal at a
later time. If notice of an intention to do so has
been given as provided in section 2.754, and if
conversion to public use appears to be in the public
interest, then the police department may publicly
declare the property to be converted to public use. A
written record of the public use to which the property
is to be devoted shall be reduced to writing and kept
with the unclaimed property sale records.
section 4. section 2.760 of the Springfield Municipal Code is
amended in its entirety as follows:
2.760
Unclaimed Guns
(1) Definition: The term gun includes any
firearm, rifle, shotgun, revolver, pistol, air gun, air
rifle, or any similar mechanism by whatever name known
which is designed to expel a projectile through a gun
barrel by the action of an explosive, gas, compressed
air, spring or elastic. The term unclaimed gun means
any gun that was seized as evidence, abandoned, found
or stolen, and has remained in the possession of the
police department for more than sixty days following
conclusion of all criminal actions related to the gun
or conclusion of the investigation if no criminal
action is filed.
(2) The police department shall dispose of
unclaimed guns using the same form of notice of intent
to dispose of unclaimed property, the same notice
posting, publication and mailing procedures, and all of
the same other procedures specified for the disposition
of unclaimed property in sections 2.754, 2.756 and
2.758, except as those procedures are specifically
modified by the procedures specified in this section.
(3) The notice of sale for unclaimed guns
shall be the same as the notice of sale for unclaimed
property specified in section 2.754(6) with the
exception that the notice of sale for unclaimed guns
shall announce and specify that only licensed weapons
Ordinance 5903 Page Five
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dealers shall be allowed to bid at the public auction.
The notice of sale for unclaimed guns shall also
specify that the unclaimed guns may be destroyed by the
City if they are not sold or converted to public use by
the City.
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(4) The sale or conversion to public use of
unclaimed guns shall be the same as for the sale or
conversion to public use of unclaimed property
specified in section 2.758 except that only licensed
weapons dealers shall be allowed to bid at the sale.
If the police department intends to convert to public
use the unclaimed guns, and such conversion to public
use appears to be in the public interest, and notice of
the intention to do so has been given in the notice of
sale as required under section 2.754(6), then the
police department may convert the unclaimed guns to
public use and may use the converted guns to exchange
for or as trade-in for weapons or ammunition to be used
by the police department. A written record of the
public use to which the gun is to be devoted shall be
prepared and kept with the unclaimed property sales
records. In the alternative, after council approval,
the police department may destroy the gun. A written
record of the destruction shall be prepared and kept
with the unclaimed property sales records.
Section 5. The regulation of police auctions is hereby found and
determined to be matters affecting the public health, safety and
welfare, and it is further found and determined that an emergency
exists. Therefore this ordinance shall take effect immediately
upon its passage by the City Council and approval by the Mayor.
ADOPTED by the Common Council of the City of Springfield
this 7th day of Decemher , 1998,
by vote of 6 for and 0 against.
APPROVED by the Mayor of the City of Springfield
this 7th day of December 1998.
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ATTEST:
o Tem Council President Greg Shaver
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Ci Recorder
REVIEWED & APPROVED
~FOR~ ~
DATE:~ \. \ ,,~
OFFICE OF CITY ATTORNEY