(a) Except as otherwise provided in Subsection (h) or (i), the director shall sell unclaimed property and surplus, obsolete, worn out, or useless property by public auction or by accepting sealed bids, to the highest bidder. The property may be auctioned, each piece individually or in assembled lots, whichever the director determines will bring the best price obtainable, except for motor vehicles which must be sold individually unless in accordance with Subsection (b). If in the opinion of the director the highest bid on a particular item is not sufficient, the director may refuse the bid and hold the item for sale at another time.
(b) Unclaimed motor vehicles and motor vehicle parts on which the vehicle identification numbers have been destroyed, mutilated, or removed may be sold in assembled lots in accordance with this section if the following requirements are met:
(1) The vehicles and vehicle parts must be sold as scrap metal only and may not be reconstructed or made operable after the sale.
(2) The vehicles and vehicle parts must be sold to a demolisher who owns an auto crusher located within the city.
(3) A representative of the city auto pound must witness the demolition of the vehicle and vehicle parts to ensure that no parts are removed for use or resale.
(4) All notification and other requirements of Chapter 683, Texas Transportation Code, as amended, that are applicable to the disposal of abandoned motor vehicles must be met.
(c) If the director receives a group of 10 or more identical items for sale, the director may sell a minimum of three of the items at public auction and then advertise in the official newspaper of the city and sell the remaining items at a price not less than the average price obtained for the auctioned items.
(d) When sale is to be by acceptance of sealed bids, the bids must remain in the office of the city secretary for public inspection at least 48 hours after the bids are opened.
(e) Except as provided in Subsection (f), the director may accept the following in exchange for the sale of items by any method of sale:
(1) cash money;
(2) personal or business checks if proper identification is shown;
(3) a bank credit card that the city honors pursuant to contractual arrangements with a bank; or
(4) new property of the same general type, if the items are city-owned property declared surplus or obsolete by the head of the department holding the property and recommended by the city manager for use as trade-ins on the new property.
(f) The director may only accept new property of the same general type in exchange for the sale of city-owned firearms or firearm accessories or ammunition that the chief of police has declared surplus or obsolete and has recommended for use as trade-ins on the new property.
(g) Electronic procurement and reverse auctions. The city manager may establish procedures for purchasing goods, general services, or facility construction under this section through electronic means, including but not limited to the Internet, to the extent the procedures do not conflict with state law, the city charter, or other provisions of this code. The city manager may also establish procedures for purchasing goods or general services pursuant to the reverse auction method defined in Section 2155.062(d), Texas Government Code, as amended, to the extent the procedures do not conflict with state law, the city charter, or other provisions of this code.
(h) The director may, in lieu of conducting a sale by public auction or sealed bids, return surplus, obsolete, worn out, or useless property to the contract vendor or original manufacturer and accept a refund or a credit toward the purchase of new property of the same general type if the contract with the vendor or manufacturer requires the acceptance of returns or trade-ins at a price or refund rate of not less than the current fair market value of the property.