Contents
Catalog Links

Normandale Community College Policies and Procedures

7.1.4 Surplus Personal Property Disposal Procedure

Related Minnesota State Board Policy: 7.3 Financial Administration

Related Minnesota State Board Procedure: 7.3.13 Surplus Personal Property/Building Disposal

Related Normandale Community College Procedure: 7.1.5 Acquisition and Disposal of Sensitive IT Items

Related Normandale Community College Policy: 6.7 Surplus Building Disposal

 

Purpose:


To establish a process that disposes of college surplus personal property in an efficient and cost-effective manner. For the disposal of sensitive IT assets, refer to Normandale Procedure 7.1.5 for the prescribed process. For the disposal of buildings, refer to Normandale Policy 6.7.

 

Part 1. Definitions

 

Surplus property: Any state-owned property, including commodities, equipment, materials, supplies, books, printed matter, buildings, and other property, that is obsolete, unused, not needed for a public purpose, or ineffective for current use. Any liens against property must be satisfied before the property can be considered surplus.

 

Personal property: Defined the same as surplus property above, with the exclusion of buildings. Any liens against personal property must be satisfied before the property can be considered surplus.

 

Part 2. Personal Property Disposal Summary

The college shall sell, trade in (if item has a value), give away, or destroy surplus personal property that is no longer useful. The college shall take the following steps for disposal of surplus personal property.

 

  1. Offer to other offices, departments, divisions, or campuses within the institution.
  2. Offer to other institutions within the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system.
  3. Offer for sale to the general public by sealed bids, public auction, negotiated sale, pre-priced garage sale, or non-sale by consignment or donation; or use the services of the Department of Administration's surplus services program.

 

If a publicly advertised auction sale is held, the public shall have the opportunity to inspect the property within a reasonable period of time. All items disposed of must have no implied warranty and must be disposed of in an “as is” condition at the time of viewing. Disposed items that are on the fixed assets inventory list must be removed from the list at the time of disposal.

 

Any items remaining after using one or more of the above options will be disposed of as determined by the college.

 

Part 3: Personal Property Disposal Procedures

 

Subpart A: Asset Disposal Form Completion

 

Complete an Asset Disposal form available from the Purchasing and Contracts Office to include:

 

  1. Complete description of the asset
  2. Asset tag numbers, if available
  3. Serial numbers if tag numbers are missing
  4. Condition
  5. Estimated market value
  6. Recommended disposition (trash, recycle, sell, sell for scrap, transfer to another department, cold storage until a specific date)
  7. Authorization from the director or dean of the department
  8. Approval from one of the following: President, Vice President of Administration, Vice President of Academic Affairs, Vice President of Student Affairs, or Associate Vice President of Finance.
  9. Submit to Purchasing and Contracts office.

 

Disposition approval must be obtained before the item is placed on the Minnesota State Surplus ListServ or advertised for sale.

 

Subpart B: Storage

 

An Asset Disposal form must be completed before the property is moved to the loading dock or any other storage location.

 

  1. Storage needs to be for a defined period of time.
  2. Items are frequently ruined in cold storage, particularly if they are made out of or include fabric, laminate, paper, etc.

 

Subpart C: Disposal Process

 

  1. The Purchasing Department offers items to other Normandale departments as appropriate.
  2. If there are no Normandale departments interested in taking the items, the Purchasing Department offers the item to other Minnesota State institutions.
    1. A determination needs to be made as to the current market value of the item(s), if any, to Normandale.
    2. If there is an expected market value to the item being disposed, the asking price (or best offer) should be included in the Minnesota State Purchasing ListServ.
      1. Normandale is not required to transfer assets to another Minnesota State institution for free, if we believe it can be sold.
      2. While there is no specified length of time for the Minnesota State posting, one to two weeks is a standard response time.
  3. Offer for sale to the general public by sealed bids, public auction, fixed selling price, negotiated sale, pre-priced garage sale, consignment, online sales site or similar selling methods.
    1. In the event there is a publicly advertised auction sale, the public will have the opportunity to inspect the property within a reasonable period of time.
    2. All items disposed of will have no implied warranty and will be disposed of in an “AS IS” condition at the time of viewing.
    3. The Purchasing Department should obtain approval for any advertising expense in advance from the Associate Vice President of Finance or the Vice President of Administration.
    4. Items offered for sale cannot be purchased by State of Minnesota employees unless the sale is on a closed bid basis to the highest bidder.

 

Subpart D: Sale

 

  1. Item is sold:
    1. Deposits are made to object code 9701 according to Minnesota State Accounting Procedure for Capital Asset Sales.
    2. Deposits are credited to an administrative cost center; any exceptions need to be approved by the Vice President of Administration.

 

  1. Item is not sold:
    1. Disposition of any items remaining unsold will be determined by the Vice President of Administration, Associate Vice President of Finance, or the President.
    2. Items may be donated, recycled, trashed or held for future sale.
      1. If there is significant potential resale value, item may be brought to the designated storage location to wait for the next campus sale.
      2. Departments disposing of assets work with Facilities Management to determine where any unsold item(s) will be transported and also communicate this information to the Purchasing Department.
      3. Facilities Management staff shall use their best judgment to store only items with resale value.

 

Subpart E: Record Keeping

 

  1. Purchasing updates, the equipment records in ISRS.
  2. Purchasing maintains records of all inventory disposals according to the Normandale Records Retention Policy.

 

Part 4. State Employees or Officers


In accordance with Minn. Stat. §15.054, no state employee or officer shall sell or give away to any other state employee or officer any personal property or materials owned by the state except such items may be sold to a state employee after reasonable public notice at a public auction or by sealed bid if the state employee is the highest bidder and is not directly involved in the auction or sealed bid process. A state employee may purchase no more than one motor vehicle from the state in any 12-month period. A person violating Minn. Stat. §15.054 is guilty of a misdemeanor. This does not apply to the sale of personal property or materials acquired or produced by the state for sale to the general public in the ordinary course of business. State employees are not prohibited from selling or possessing for sale public property if the sale or possession for sale is in the normal course of the employee’s duties.

 

 

Policy History:

Date of Adoption: Established prior to 2011

Date of Implementation:

Date and Subject of Revisions: 09-21-2015 (Changed Building Services to Facilities Management in Subpart A). November 2023: Clarify employee procedures and minimize repetition of system policy; Align procedure name and text with related Minnesota State Board Policy 7.3.13; Refer to related Normandale Procedure 7.1.5 Acquisition and Disposal of Sensitive IT Items; Update Minnesota State name and employee titles; Renumber.

Next Review Date: 2027