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County staff presents proposed property‑management ordinance; board asks for clarifications
Summary
County attorneys presented a brand‑new draft property‑management ordinance that would give the county more flexibility to sell, lease and inventory surplus property; commissioners requested clarifications on contract sales, inventory of leased property and process details.
County staff presented a draft property‑management ordinance during a Feb. 26 workshop that would create a single Franklin County policy for declaring property surplus, conducting sales or leases, and maintaining an annual inventory.
Presenters said the draft is drawn from other Washington counties and state statutes (RCW citations were discussed in the workshop) and is intended to add flexibility beyond historical auction‑only sales. Staff highlighted provisions to allow negotiated sales, leasing, lease‑with‑option arrangements and an annual inventory requirement to prevent future ownership ambiguities.
Commissioners asked staff to clarify whether county offices may sell property on contract (seller financing) and to list leased property separately in the inventory. Staff said the ordinance language can be adjusted to explicitly permit sales carried on contract and to require departments to report leased as well as owned county property. The board also discussed insurance and risk‑pool reporting for the inventory.
No final action was taken; staff said they will incorporate feedback, circulate revisions and return the ordinance for future board consideration. County administrators emphasized that the proposed code is new and intended to provide tools such as negotiated sales and leasing while maintaining statutory guardrails against gifting.
