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ORD20181423-Chapter 263-22-Proposed Amendment COMMON COUNCIL – CITY OF MUSKEGO ORDINANCE #1423 AN ORDINANCE TO AMEND CHAPTER 263, SECTION 263-22, OF THE MUNICIPAL CODE OF THE CITY OF MUSKEGO (Disposal of abandoned or Unclaimed Personal Property) THE COMMON COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF MUSKEGO, WISCONSIN DO ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1: Chapter 263, Section 263-22, of the Municipal Code of the City of Muskego is hereby amended to read as follows: 263-22. DISPOSAL OF ABANDONED OR UNCLAIMED PERSONAL PROPERTY. A. The City may dispose of any personal property which has been abandoned or remains unclaimed for a period of 30 days after the taking of possession of the property by City officials by any means determined to be in the best interest of the City. (1) Disposal of personal property shall be in a manner prescribed by the Common Council or those listed below: (a) Public auction. (b) Sealed bids. Said advertisement of sealed bids shall be in a manner prescribed by the appropriate department head. (c) Destruction. (d) Return to rightful owner. (e) Transfer to appropriate governmental entity. (f) Holding of a public sale by a nonprofit organization and the payment to said organization of a reasonable commission from the sale proceeds with the balance being paid to the City. (g) Return to the person(s) who turned the item in to the Police Department if requested and no rightful owner can be located. (h) Public sale through Internet-based sales, i.e., E-Bay or Property Room.com. \[Added 6-1-2006 by Ord. No. 1228\] (2) These procedures presume that if the personal property to be disposed of appears to be or is reported stolen, an attempt will be made to return said property to the rightful owner. Ordinance #1423 B. If the property is not disposed of by the City itself in a sale open to the public, the City shall maintain an inventory of such property, a record of the date and method of disposal, including the consideration received for the property, if any, and the name and address of the person taking possession of the property. Such inventory shall be kept as a public record for a period of not less than two years from the date of disposal of the property. A. Custodian. The Chief of Police or designee shall be the custodian of all personal property that has been lost, abandoned, or picked up during the course of a police investigation. The Chief of Police or designee having custody of the property shall attempt to return the property to the rightful owner. B. The Chief of Police or designee may, pursuant to Wis. Stats. §66.0139, dispose of any such property abandoned or unclaimed for a period of 30 days, by any of the following means, as determined by the Chief of Police or designee to be in the best interest of the City: (1) The property may be sold at public auction, including an internet auction service contracting with the City. (2) The property may be sold without a public auction at a sale open to the public, including internet-based sales such as eBay. (3) The property may be sold in a private sale through an agreed-upon amount of sale. (4) The property may be retained by the City for its own use. (5) The property may be donated. (6) The property may be destroyed or discarded as trash, recycled, or sold as scrap. (7) The property may be used in trade on other property to be acquired. (8) The property may be sold, traded, or transferred to an outside publicly funded agency. C. Firearms. Any seized firearm, ammunition or dangerous weapon shall not be returned to any person who committed a crime involving the use of the seized item. Seized property that is a firearm, ammunition, or dangerous weapon may be returned to the rightful owner under this section if the owner had no prior knowledge of and gave no consent to the commission of the crime. Firearms, ammunition, or dangerous weapons which are abandoned or remain unclaimed for a period of 30 days shall be returned to the rightful owner, destroyed, or transferred to the State Crime Laboratory established under §165.75, Wis. Stats. Ordinance #1423 D. Seized Property. If property seized pursuant to a search warrant or seized without a search warrant is not required for evidence or further investigative use, and has not been disposed of pursuant to a court order, the custodian or their designee shall make reasonable attempts to notify all persons who or may have an authorized rightful interest in the seized item that they may apply for return of the seized item pursuant to §968.20, Wis. Stats. Any item that has not been applied for its return within 30 days of notice shall be considered abandoned or unclaimed and disposed of pursuant to this section. E. Record Keeping. (1) Records of the sale or destruction of personal property shall be maintained by the Chief of Police or their designee in whose custody the personal property had been committed. The records shall include the following information: (a) Description of the property; (b) The date of the sale or destruction; (c) The method of disposal; (d) Consideration received for the property, if any, (e) If the property is sold or otherwise transferred, the name and address of the person taking possession of the property. (2) Such records shall be kept as public record for a period of not less than two years from the date of the disposal of the property F. Deposit into City Account. All money retained by the City as described in this section, or that is found by a City official, employee, or agent that is unclaimed and all proceeds of any sale of abandoned or unclaimed property shall be deposited by the Director of Finance and Administration into the general account of the City of Muskego. G. Return of lost property to finder or owner. Sections 170.07 through 170.105, Wis. Stats., as amended from time to time, are incorporated herein by reference. Any decisions, determinations and certifications to be made by a law enforcement agency under the aforesaid statutes shall be made by the Chief of Police or their designee, upon such proof which may be deemed sufficient, in the sole discretion of the Chief of Police or their designee, respectively. H. Stolen Property. If the Custodian has property in their possession that appears to be or is reported stolen they shall attempt to return the property to the rightful owner before disposing of the property as allowed by this section. Ordinance #1423 SECTION 2: The several sections of this ordinance are declared to be severable. If any section or portion thereof shall be declared by a decision of a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, unlawful or unenforceable, such decision shall apply only to the specific section or portion thereof directly specified in the decision, and not affect the validity of all other provisions, sections or portion thereof of the ordinance which shall remain in full force and effect. Any other ordinance whose terms are in conflict with the provisions of this ordinance is hereby repealed as to those terms that conflict. SECTION 3: This ordinance shall be in full force and effect from and after its passage and publication. PASSED AND APPROVED THIS ____ DAY OF _______________, 2018. CITY OF MUSKEGO Kathy Chiaverotti, Mayor ATTEST: First Reading: November 13, 2018 Clerk-Treasurer Newly Enacted Ordinance Published: