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1.13 ABANDONED PROPERTY ORDINANCE THE COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS OF THE COUNTY OF DOUGLAS DOES ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS: SECTION I. AUTHORITY This ordinance is adopted pursuant to the authority of Section 66.28 of the Wisconsin Statutes. SECTION II. DISPOSAL OF ABANDONED PROPERTY a. The County of Douglas through any of its individual departments, including the Sheriff's Department, may dispose of any personal property which has been abandoned or remained unclaimed for a period of 30 days after taking possession of such property. b. The property may be retained, sold at public auction or otherwise disposed of by any means not inconsistent with this ordinance determined to be in the best interest of the county by the department head. c. If personal property is not disposed of by sale open to the public, the responsible department shall maintain an inventory of such property; a record of the date and method of disposal, including the consideration received for the property, if any, and the name and address of the person taking possession of the property. Such inventory shall be kept as a public record for a period of not less than two years from the date of disposal of the property. Disposal may be accomplished by retention of the property for use by the department, destruction of the property, transfer to another county department or transfer to some other suitable party. d. If disposal is in the form of a sale, all receipts from the sale, after deducting the necessary expenses of keeping the property and deducting the sale, shall be paid into the county treasury. e. Abandoned or unclaimed flammable, explosive or incendiary substances, materials or devices posing a danger to life or property in the storage, transportation or use may be disposed of immediately after taking possession of the substances, materials or devices without a public auction. Disposal options shall be the same as in paragraph except that if the substance, material or device appears to be stolen, an attempt will be made to return the substance, material or device to the rightful owner prior to exercising other dispositional options. f. Firearms or ammunition may only be disposed of by return to the rightful owner, destruction or transfer to the state crime laboratories under Section 165.75, the Department of Justice, the Federal ---PAGE BREAK--- Bureau of Investigation or the Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms Bureau of the U.S. Department of Treasury. SECTION III. PROVISIONS The provisions of this Ordinance are subject to requirements of Section 968.20 of the Wisconsin Statutes, when applicable. SECTION IV. EFFECTIVE DATE This Ordinance shall take effect immediately upon passage and publication. Signed: Douglas G. Finn County Board Chairman Approved August 18, 1988.