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022 of 1996 - Repealing the current Section 2.10.020 of the Salt Lake City Code, relating to Lost, abandoned or un0 96-1 0 96-24 SALT LAKE CITY ORDINANCE No. 22 of 1996 (Repealing the current Section 2.10.020 of the Salt Lake City Code, relating to Lost, abandoned or unclaimed property defined --Duties of chief of police, and enacting a new Article 1.5, Disposition of custodial and unclaimed property --Rationale) AN ORDINANCE REPEALING THE CURRENT SECTION 2.10.020, SALT LAKE CITY CODE, RELATING TO LOST, ABANDONED OR UNCLAIMED PROPERTY DEFINED --DUTIES OF CHIEF OF POLICE, AND ENACTING A NEW ARTICLE 1.5, DISPOSITION OF CUSTODIAL AND UNCLAIMED --RATIONALE. Be it ordained by the City Council of Salt Lake City, Utah: SECTION 1. Section 2.10.020 of the Salt Lake City Code is hereby REPEALED in its entirety. SECTION 2. A new Article 1.5 of the Salt Lake City Code, consisting of Sections 2.10.020 through 2.10.024, is hereby ENACTED as follows: Article 1.5 Disposition of custodial and unclaimed property --Rationale. 2.10.010 Definitions. A. "Custodial property" means tangible and intangible property that comes into possession of Salt Lake City employees through criminal procedures such as, but not limited to, executing a search warrant, arresting a person, or obtaining evidence in connection with a public offense. B. "Unclaimed property" means tangible and intangible property that comes into possession of Salt Lake City employees through circumstances not involving criminal procedures in which the owner is either unknown or unavailable to take possession of property. C. "Public interest use" means use by a governmental agency; use by a bona fide charity or; in the case of bicycles only, use for an individual child under sixteen years of age where the need is apparent and the use meets community needs, as defined by mayor's executive order. 2.10.020 Disposition of Custodial Property. A. Custodial property shall be returned to the lawful owner in accordance with Section 77-24-2, Utah Code Annotated, or its successor statute. B. If the custodial property is not claimed by the owner before the expiration of ninety calendar days following date of mailing of notice, as provided in subsection 2.10.022, and no claim of ownership has been made, the city may: 1. Appropriate the custodial property for public interest use, as provided in this chapter; or 2 2. Sell the property by competitive sealed bid or at public auction, with the proceeds being deposited into the general fund. 2.10.021 Disposition of found unclaimed property to finder. Property, which has been surrendered to the city by one who found the property and for which no owner has been identified, shall be released to the finder on the following conditions: A. There has expired not less than ninety calendar days from date of surrender to the city; B. The finder signs a statement containing: 1. An explanation as to how the property came into the finder's possession, including the time, date and place; 2. An affirmation that the finder does not know who is the owner of the property; 3. A statement that the finder's possession of the property is lawful; 4. Such other information known to the finder that may lead to an identification of the owner; and 5. Other information the department receiving the property may request that will reasonably lead to discovering the true owner. 3 C. The true owner has not been determined from information provided by the finder or known to the city from other sources, after reasonable efforts by the city; D. The intent to dispose of property has been advertised by the procedure set forth in Section 2.10.022, Salt Lake City Code, and the finder pays a proportional share of the costs of advertising and storage. E. No city employee working for or assigned to the police department may claim or receive unclaimed property as a finder. 2.10.022 Disposition of unclaimed property by sale or appropriation to public use. Property unclaimed by the true owner within ninety calendar days following the receipt of the property by the city or released to the finder pursuant to subsection 2.10.021, shall be disposed of by sale or appropriated for public use as follows: A. Procedure. 1. Public Notice. After the expiration of ninety calendar days from receipt of the property, the city shall: (a) publish at least one notice of intent to dispose of the unclaimed property in a newspaper of general circulation within Salt Lake County; and (b) post a similar notice in a public place designated by the mayor or his/her designee for posting of notices within the city. 4 2. Notice contents. The published and posted notice shall contain a general description of the items to be sold. Items may be listed by categories or other general groupings and shall state the date of intended disposition. 3. Waiting period. The property shall be held by the city and not disposed of for a minimum of eight calendar days, after the date of posting and publication of the notice. 2.10.023 Transfer of ownership. If the finder does not claim the property, pursuant to subsection 2.10.021, the city may appropriate the item for public interest use, as provided in Section 2.10.024; or sell the item by competitive sealed bid or at a public auction, with the proceeds being deposited in the general fund. 2.10.024 Public Interest use. A. Executive Procedural Order. The mayor, by executive order, may specify the procedure to be used by the chief of police to dispose of property for public interest use, which procedure shall include the following: 1. Bona fide charity use. The mayor's order shall contain the minimum requirements to qualify as a "bona fide charity"; contain a limit on how many items and/or the total value of items that may be given to a "bona fide 5 charity" in any one calendar year; the criteria for allowing a bicycle to be given to a needy child without going through a "bona fide charity", if the mayor so chooses to include such a procedure; and shall set forth the community needs that are to be accomplished by public interest usage. 2. City usage. The mayor's executive order shall contain the procedure city departments must follow to obtain approval to employ items for public interest use. Approval for city department usage must be requested by a department head and approved by the mayor or the mayor's designee. All such property shall be assigned a number on the Fixed Asset System or its successor method of inventory control to facilitate tracking and reporting disposition of property. Upon approval of the mayor or the mayor's designee, the chief of police will transfer the item to the requesting department. B. Council report. The mayor shall report to the city council annually, during the budget process, and provide an accounting of the property disposed of for public interest use. The report shall identify how the public benefited from the public interest use. 6 XX SECTION 3. This Ordinance shall take effect upon its first publication. Passed by the City Council of Salt Lake City, Utah, this 7 day of May ATTEST COUNTERSIGN: EF DEPUTY CITY RE ORDER , 1996. CHAIRPERSON Transmitted to the Mayor on May 8, 1996 Mayor's Action: ATTEST AND COUNTERSIGN: CHIEF DEPUTY CITY RECORDER GRH:rc 04/10/96 Bill 22 of 1996 Published: May 17, 1996 G:\Ordina96\LoctProp.wo Approved. S6'SYti� #M 7 /41 Vetoed.