Council revises surplus-property rules to allow disposal, donations and require council review for land

Councilmembers and staff discussed lengthy operational problems with disposing of broken furniture, damaged equipment and obsolete police radios that had accumulated in department storage. The police chief told the council there was no efficient administrative path in the existing code to discard unsalvageable items and that an updated ordinance would allow department heads to determine when items are unsalvageable and either dispose of or donate them to local nonprofits.

The police chief and public works staff described examples including broken radios and worn-out equipment that take up storage space and cannot be sold at auction. The proposed changes would add clear authority for department heads to declare unsalvageable items and permit donation of items valued at under $5,000 to nonprofit entities such as the high school auto shop or Merced College.

Council members proposed two amendments before voting: first, to add language requiring that any surplus land be brought to city council for approval rather than being delegated to staff; second, to require notification to the public (for example via social media) when city property is offered for sale. City attorneys confirmed the law permits delegation of some disposals but that the code can be drafted to route surplus land transactions to council. The council approved the ordinance amendments with the two changes in a unanimous vote.

Council directed staff to prepare the final ordinance language reflecting those amendments; staff said the change would enable the city to clear unusable items from storage and, where appropriate, donate equipment for local educational use.