The City Administrator shall maintain an inventory of the description of personal property lawfully coming into the possession of the city in the course of municipal operations and remaining unclaimed by the owner. The inventory shall describe the property and shall state the date it came into the possession of the city. The City Administrator shall utilize reasonable efforts to identify and locate the owner of the property so that it might be returned. However, if the property remains in the possession of the city for a period of at least 60 days, it shall be considered to be abandoned. From time to time the City Administrator may submit to the Council the inventory of abandoned property. The Council may authorize sale of the abandoned property by resolution. The City Clerk shall publish a notice announcing the auction date and time and also describing the property, as well as providing the names and addresses of the owners of the property, if known. The notice shall be published once in the official newspaper at least 3 weeks prior to the sale. Sale of the property shall be made to the highest bidder at public auction. The net proceeds from the sale shall be paid into the General Fund of the city. The former owner of any property sold at the auction shall have 6 months from the date of the sale to apply for payment of the net proceeds attributable to the owner’s property.
(Am. Ord. 121, passed 9-16-1991)