Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrdinance 5903 12/07/1998 ORDINANCE NO. ')IW1 . 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. . (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 . 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 Ordinance 5903 Page Two SPRINGFIELD POLICE DEPARTMENT WITHIN THIRTY DAYS FROM THE DATE OF PUBLICATION OF THIS NOTICE, OR YOU WILL LOSE YOUR INTEREST IN THAT PROPERTY. . (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. . (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: . 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. . . . (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. ~ (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 . , . . Ordinance 5903 Page Four . . . 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 . ,'. . 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. . . (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. , ATTEST: o Tem Council President Greg Shaver . ~ (~1J2ffi<A Ci Recorder REVIEWED & APPROVED ~FOR~ ~ DATE:~ \. \ ,,~ OFFICE OF CITY ATTORNEY