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19960528 1996-6ORDINANCE NO. 1996-.. 6 AN ORDINANCE AMENDING SECTIONS 23-1 THROUGH 23-5 AND SECTION 23-7, CHAPTER 23 OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF FAIRFAX, VIRGINIA, CONCERNING UNCLAIMED PERSONAL PROPERTY AND ADDING THERETO A NEW SECTION 23-4.1, CHAPTER 23 OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF FAIRFAX, CONCERNING THE DISPOSITION OF UNCLAIMED BICYCLES AND MOPEDS. 1. BE IT ORDAINED by the City Council of the City of Fairfax, Virginia, that Sections 23-1 through 23-5 and Section 23-7, Chapter 23 of the Code of the City of Fairfax, Virginia are hereby amended to read in their entirety as follows: Sec. 23-1. Chi, . or taken in ossession of b olice de artment+ It shall be the duty of the chief of police to keep or cause to be kept a record of all unclaimed persona] property which may be seized or otherwise taken possession of by the police departmentT and if such. Unclaimed persona] property so seized or taken into the possession of chall net bc clair, cd the police department and unclaimed by the rightful owner thereof ~..d posscssion ~r~..d~r~ 1 ........... prcpcr -' ....... ~ ..... m .......... property , ....... c .... c ........ 25 1. for a per od of more than ~ixtv (60) days may be sold at public auction as provided hy thi:~ ~hapter or retained by the police department as provided bv thi:~ ~hapter. As used herein, "unclaimed personal property" shall .any personal property helonginq to another which has been ac~ire,~ by a law-enforcement officer pursuant to his duties, which is not needed in any criminal prosecution, which has not been claimed its rightful owner and which the State Treasurer has indicated will he declined if remitted under the Unifo~ Disposition of Unclaime,~ Property Act (Va. Code Section 55-210.1 et seq.). ' Sec. 23-2. Dut of chief of ~lish list of unclaime~ ersonal ro ert · notification of rightful owner; sale of property which remains unclaimed by owner. (a) " .... ~ ~¢ th thc taking posscssicn th f ~~ ~= .......... · ...... ~ ........... cr thor ~f ---~ ~ ........... ~ .......... ~, ..... propcrty --~ ~ I ~ - ~ ~ sold 1996-6 ~rior to the sale or retention for use by the police department o[ any item of unclaimed personal property, the chief of police or his designee shall make reasonable attempts to notify the rightful owner of the property, obtain a statement in writing from the attorney for the Commonwealth advising that the item is not neede, I ~n any criminal prosecution, and cause to be published, in ~ newspaper of general circulation in the city once a week for two successive weeks, notice that there will be a public display and ~ale of unclaimed personal property. Such promertv, includin9 ~roperty selected for retention by the police department, shall b~ described generally in the notice, together with the date, time and ~lace of the sale and shall be made available for public viewing al. the sale. (b) =- - " "~n ~o thc -'-~ -' -'~ . ~ ~d d~ . 4- ~ ..... ~ .... I.. thc ~" · " ~ ....... Propcrty d ..... b~d - =uchIf within ten (10) days this section, no claim for the unclaimed personal property .described in the notice shall have been made by the rightful owner thereof, the city t~~ ..... chief of police or his desiqne~ shall proceed to sell =uch the unclaimed persona] property at public auction. " (c) Any unclaimed item retained for use by the police department shall become the property of the city and shall retai~ed only if, in the opinion of the chief of police, there i:~ a legitimate use for the property bv the police department and thai. retention of the item is a more economical alternative than purchase of a similar or equivalent item. Sec. 23-3. Disposition of perishable, bulky, dangerous, etc. property. ' If any ~ property seized or taken possession of by the police department shall be of a perishable nature or so bulky or of such nature as to make it dangerous or inadvisable to retain possession thereof for the length of time specified in section 23-1 before selling the same, the city t.c ...... chief of police or his designee shall make reasonable attempts to notify the rightful .owner of the property, shall cause such property to be advertised forthwith in one or more newspapers published or having general circulation in the city and shall sell such property at public auction at any time after three (3) days shall have elapsed from the date of such publication. Sec. 23-4. Disposition of dcadly unclaimed firearms and othe~ No.nc of thc provisions of this chantcr shall ---'-- 4-- ~-4-~- "-~ .............. ~ .......... ~u~d b~ ...... n 13.2 319 of th~ ~ ~f Vlrgln~a. ~ ........ , ~5-4.) Ail unclaimed firearms and other weapons in the possession of the police department shall be disposed of accordinq to the provisions of Va. Code 15.1-133.01:1. 1996-6 Sec. 23-5. Duty of police officer to deliver seized property .to chief of police. It shall be the duty of all officers and members of the police department into whose possession any property seized or taken shall come~ to deliver the same at once to the chief of police, or his ~.~tc~ o~c~r designee, unless it is wanted for immediate use as evidence in any case, and in that event~ a report and inventory of the same shall be forwarded to the chief of police or his designee. Sec. 23-7. Disposition of proceeds from sales~ use of retained property. fund of tho ~=.(a) The chief of police shall pay from the proceeds of any sale, the costs of advertisement, removal, storage, .investigation as to ownership and liens, and notice of sale. Th,, balance of the funds shall be held by the chief of police for th,, owner and paid to the owner upon satisfactory proof of ownership. If no claim has been made by the owner for the property or proceeds. of such sale within sixty days of the date of sale, the remainint, funds shall be deposited into the general fund of the city and any retained property may be placed into use by the police department. (b) Any owner of unclaimed personal property sold at sale shall be entitled to apply to the city within three years from the date of the sale and, if timely application is made therefor and satisfactory proof of ownership of the funds or property is made, the city shall pay the remaining proceeds of the sale or return any retained property to the owner without interest or other charges or compensation. No claim shall be made nor any suit, action o~ proceeding be instituted for the recovery of such funds or property after three years from the date of the sale. 2. BE IT FURTHER ORDAINED by the City Council of the City of Fairfax, Virginia, that a new Section 23-4.1, Chapter 23 of the Code of the City of Fairfax, Virginia is hereby added to read in its entirety as follows: Sec. 23-4.1. Disposition of unclaimed bicycles and mopeds. (a) Any bicycle or moped which has been in the possession of the police department, unclaimed, for more than thirty days may bo disposed of by public sale or donated to a charitable organization, provided however, that prior to any public sale or donation to a charitable organization, the location and description of thn bicycle or moped shall be published at least once a week for two ive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation within tha city. In addition, if there is a license taq affixed to thn bicycle or moped, the record owner shall be notified directly that the police department has possession of the bicycle or moped and intends to dispose of it by public sale or charitable donation. (b) Any bicycle or moped found and delivered to the police department by a private person which thereafter remains unclaimed for thirty days after the final date of publication as required herein may be given to the finder. 1996-6 -4 This ordinance shall become effective as provided by law. INTRODUCED: PUBLIC HEARING:.. ADOPTED: May 14, 1996 May 28, 1996 May 28, 1996 Mayor Date ATTEST: Clerk