1. Overview

   This policy provides a standard procedure for the disposition of surplus or excess property that complies with applicable laws and insures maximum use of property prior to sale and then maximum income from property at the time of sale.

   Any department that declares as surplus or excess state or university property will contact the moving and surplus office (also called the surplus property office) at 593-0463. The property will be removed from the department for disposition either through transfer to another university department or public sale. No one is permitted to donate, give away, sell, or otherwise dispose of any surplus or excess property, except by the procedure outlined in this policy. Equipment used as a trade-in as part of the purchase of new equipment is not considered surplus.

   This policy does not affect the procedures of policy 44.104.

2. Departmental responsibilities and procedures

   1. All equipment

      In the disposal of all surplus items, departments must proceed as follows:

      1. Every department or planning unit should have an individual who is authorized to determine when property (equipment, supplies, or other material assets) is no longer useful to the department.

      2. When the authorized individual determines that property is no longer useful, he or she will call the moving and surplus office to arrange for disposition.

      3. The department must report inventory changes and deletions directly to inventory control, in accordance with policy 19.054 and policy 19.055.

   2. Red tag equipment

      Red tag equipment is equipment marked with a red, rather than the usual green, Ohio university inventory tag. A red tag designates that the equipment was purchased with grant funds and is titled to the granting agency, not the university. Never send red tag equipment to university surplus without approval from the equipment inventory office. Always check with equipment inventory for disposal of red tag equipment.

3. Moving and surplus office responsibilities and procedures

   1. Standard sale procedures

      Upon receiving a request from the department, the moving and surplus office will:

      1. Move the surplus property to the designated sale location as soon as possible.

      2. Record the item description and general condition.

      3. Add the item to surplus property inventory if it has economic value, and direct it to the recycling program if it does not.

      4. Locate inventory control numbers and report change to inventory control for removal from the department's inventory records. This provision does not relieve the department from its responsibility to contact inventory control directly, as stated in part (B)(1)(c) of this policy.

      5. Prior to public sale, make the item available to university departments for the cost of handling the item.

   2. Sealed bid procedures

      The moving and surplus office will administer the surplus program and will, at its discretion, refer items which are not suited for typical public sale (for example, airplanes and buses) to the purchasing and contracts office.

      The purchasing and contracts office will make the final determination as to the method of sale for all surplus (e.g., by sealed bid or by web auction, such as e-bay).

      1. Bids will be awarded to the highest bidder when the bid is determined to be reasonable (i.e., commensurate with fair market value of the property).

      2. Bids may be rejected if they are below fair market value, improperly filled out, or lacking in required details. Ohio university may, upon rejecting all bids, re-bid at a later date, or offer the item for open sale.

      3. Equal or tie bids will be awarded based on the stamped submission date and time. The first bidder will be the successful bidder.

      4. Successful bidders must pick up their purchases within five work days following bid opening, unless otherwise arranged with the moving and surplus office or the purchasing and contracts office, as appropriate. Failure to meet the pick-up schedule may result in forfeit of the property.

      5. The moving and surplus office or the purchasing and contracts office may withdraw items from sale prior to bid opening, if it is determined that an item is of further use at Ohio university, or by another state institution.

4. Disbursement of income generated

   1. Sales conducted through the moving and surplus office

      The division of the income generated by sale of surplus items through the moving and surplus office depends on the value of the item:

      1. In cases where the income generated from the sale of the item is five hundred dollars or less, all of the proceeds will be retained by the moving and surplus office.

      2. In cases where the income generated from the sale of a surplus item is greater than five hundred dollars, fifty per cent of the proceeds will be returned to the contributing department.

      When the proceeds are critical to provide funding for the replacement of the item with a similar item, departments may request up to eighty per cent of the proceeds from the sale by submitting a written request and justification to the director of property management.

   2. Sales conducted through the purchasing and contracts office

      All income generated (one hundred per cent) is returned to the contributing department. Sales are referred to the purchasing and contracts office by the moving and surplus office only. All departments must contact the moving and surplus office for sale of surplus items.

5. Regional campuses

   Disposition of surplus or excess property on regional campuses will be managed by the regional campus dean. Each regional campus dean will ensure that procedures outlined in this policy are followed.

Reviewers

Proposed revisions of this policy should be reviewed by:

1. Associate Vice President for Finance

2. Associate Controller (for review by Equipment Inventory)

3. Director of Purchasing

4. Regional Campus Deans

5. Planning Unit Heads

Forms, References, and History

1. Forms

   There are no forms that are specific to this policy.

2. References

   The following items are relevant to this policy:

   1. Policy 19.054, "Equipment Inventory Control."

   2. Policy 19.055, "U.S. Government Excess Equipment."

   3. Policy 44.104, "Hazardous Materials Management."

3. History

   Draft versions of this policy that were circulated for review, their cover memos, their forms, and Reviewers' comments on them are available on the password-protected Review site.

   Prior versions of this policy were approved on:

   1. April 23, 2007

   2. December 1, 1997

   3. October 2, 1978