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Council asked about allowing council, staff and family to participate in third-party surplus auctions
Summary
Staff proposed allowing council members, employees and family members to participate in surplus-equipment auctions if auctions remain handled by an independent third-party vendor; staff said third-party handling addresses conflict-of-interest concerns and that the vendor conducts bidding and payments.
Staff proposed an amendment to the surplus-equipment policy to permit council members, city employees and their family members to participate in third-party online auctions, provided a truly independent vendor manages bidding and payments. Council members asked whether the policy conflicts with ethics rules; staff said they are not aware of a written prohibition but will double-check and noted that a third-party vendor model is intended to avoid appearance-of-conflict issues.
"All we do is have to upload all the information and then take the payments at the end, but they handle it," the Presenter said when describing the third-party auction process. Council members and staff agreed that participation is acceptable so long as auctions remain outside city staff control and subject to the vendor's independent process.
