(a) Whenever a law enforcement officer of the City ascertains that an article of lost or abandoned property is present on public property and is of such nature that it can be easily removed, the officer shall take such article into custody and shall make a reasonable attempt to ascertain the rightful owner or lienholder pursuant to the provisions of this section.
(b) Whenever a law enforcement officer ascertains that an article of lost or abandoned property is present on public property and is of such nature that it cannot be easily removed, the officer shall cause a notice to be placed upon such article in substantially the following form:
NOTICE TO THE OWNER AND ALL PERSONS INTERESTED IN THE ATTACHED PROPERTY. This property, to wit: (setting forth brief description) is unlawfully upon public property known as (setting forth brief description of location) and must be removed within 5 days, otherwise, it will be removed and disposed of pursuant to Chapter 705, Florida Statutes. The owner will be liable for the costs of removal, storage, and publication of notice. Dated this: (setting forth the date of posting of notice), signed: (setting forth name, title, address and telephone number of law enforcement officer).
Such notice shall be not less than seven (7) inches by ten (10) inches and shall be sufficiently weatherproof to withstand normal exposure to the elements. In addition to posting, the law enforcement officer shall make a reasonable effort to ascertain the name and address of the owner. If such is reasonably available to the officer, he shall mail a copy of such notice to the owner on or before the date of posting. If the property is a motor vehicle as defined in Section 320.01(1), Florida Statutes, or a vessel as defined in Section 327.02(27), Florida Statutes, the law enforcement agency shall contact the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles or the Department of Natural Resources, respectively, in order to determine the name and address of the owner and any person who has filed a lien on the vehicle or vessel as provided in Section 319.27(2) or (3) or Section 328.15(1), Florida Statutes. On receipt of this information, the law enforcement agency shall mail a copy of the notice by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the owner and to the lienholder, if any. If, at the end of five (5) days after posting the notice and mailing such notice, if required, the owner or any person interested in the lost or abandoned article or articles described has not removed the article or articles from public property or shown reasonable cause for failure to do so, the following shall apply:
(1) For abandoned property, the City may retain any or all of the property for its own use or for use by the state or unit of local government, trade such property to another unit of local government or state agency, donate the property to a charitable organization, sell the property, or notify the appropriate refuse removal service.
(2) For lost property, the officer shall take custody and the City shall retain the property for ninety (90) days and publish notice of the City's intended disposition of the property.
a. If the City elects to retain the property for its own use, donate the property to a charitable organization, surrender such property to the finder, sell the property or trade the property to another unit of local government of state agency, notice of such election shall be given by an advertisement published once a week for two (2) consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in Palm Beach County.
b. If the City elects to sell the property, it must do so at public sale by competitive bidding. Notice of the time and place of the sale shall be given by an advertisement of the sale published once a week for two (2) consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in Palm Beach County. The notice shall include a statement that the sale shall be subject to any and all liens. The sale must be held at the nearest suitable place to that where the lost or abandoned property is held or stored. The advertisement must include a description of the goods and the time and place of the sale. The sale may take place no earlier than ten (10) days after the final publication. Notice of the City's intended disposition shall describe the property in a manner reasonably adequate to permit the rightful owner of the property to identify it.
(c) If the property is sold at public sale pursuant to subparagraph 10-51(b)(2)b, the City shall deduct from the proceeds the cost of transportation, storage, and publication of notice, and any balance of proceeds shall be deposited into an interest-bearing account not later than thirty (30) days after the date of the sale and held there for one (1) year. The City shall provide a bill of sale clearly stating that the sale is subject to any and all liens. The rightful owner of the property may claim the balance of the proceeds within one (1) yearfrom the date of the above stated deposit by making application to the City. If no rightful owner comes forward with a claim to the property within the designated year, the balance of the proceeds shall be deposited into the state school fund.
(d) The owner of any abandoned or lost property who, after notice as provided in this section, does not remove such property within the specified period shall be liable to the City for all costs of removal, storage, and destruction of such property, less any salvage value obtained by disposal of the property. Upon final disposition of the property, the law enforcement officer shall notify the owner, if known, of the amount owed. In the case of an abandoned boat or motor vehicle, any person who neglects or refuses to pay such amount is not entitled to be issued a certificate of registration for such boat or motor vehicle, or any other boat or motor vehicle, until such costs have been paid. The City shall supply the Department of Natural Resources with a list of persons whose boat registration privileges have been revoked under this subsection and the Department of Motor Vehicles with a list of persons whose motor vehicle privileges have been revoked. Neither department nor any other person acting as agent thereof shall issue a certificate of registration to a person whose boat or motor vehicle registration privileges have been revoked, as provided by this subsection, until such costs have been paid.
(e) Whoever opposes, obstructs, or resists any law enforcement officer or any person authorized by the law enforcement officer in the discharge of his duties as provided in this section upon conviction is guilty of a misdemeanor of the second degree, punishable as provided in Section 755.083, Florida Statutes, as may be amended from time to time.
(f) Any law enforcement officer or any person authorized by the law enforcement officer is immune from prosecution, civil or criminal, for reasonable, good faith trespass upon real property while in the discharge of duties imposed by this section.
(g) The rightful owner shall be liable for the City's costs for transportation and storage of lost or abandoned property and the City's cost for publication of notice of disposition of lost property. If the rightful owner does not pay such costs within thirty (30) days of making claim to the property, title to the property shall vest in the City.
(Ord. No. 87-2, § 2, 2-3-87; Ord. No. 87-29, §§ 2, 3, 9-15-87; Ord. No. 04-030, § 2, 5-18-04)