Disposal and Sales of University Property

Source: Office of the Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administrative Affairs

The Director of Procurement Services shall coordinate all property disposal activities on campus as the official Property Control Officer for UW-Whitewater. All such property disposition shall be in accordance with regulations found in the "State Procurement Manual" section "PRO-F3, 4, & 5" as published by the Wisconsin Department of Administration.

"Property Type" means either state surplus property or state replacement property.

"State surplus property" is property (supplies, materials or equipment) that does not function in whole or part or is technologically obsolete or is not useful to the program or is not needed to meet program responsibilities and it will not be replaced within the standard replacement schedule or within the current fiscal year with property that is functionally similar.  Given appropriation type, net proceeds from the sale of State Surplus Property may be credited to the Budget Stabilization Fund according to the guideline established by the State Controller's Office.

"State Replacement Property" is property (supplies, materials or equipment) that does not function in whole or part or is technologically obsolete or is beyond the specified date established for replacement or meets replacement criteria and  it will be replaced within the standard replacement schedule or within the current fiscal year with property that is functionally similar.

All departments, offices and individuals contemplating the disposition of university property--whether by transfer to another state agency without cost, selling to another agency or the general public, trade-in on the purchase of new equipment, or destroying--shall first notify UW-Whitewater Surplus Property before any disposition.  Written permission must be obtained from the Property Control Officer. The property manager will process the necessary forms and make the reports as required by the "Administrative Practices Manual."

Whenever a department is replacing a piece of equipment with a similar piece of new equipment (replacement property), the used or obsolete piece may become a part of the purchase transaction. Such trade-ins shall be properly identified on the Purchase Requisition and Purchase Order so the Shared Financial System Asset Manager will be able to complete the required paperwork.

Unit supervisors are encouraged to make periodic inspections within his/her unit to prevent the unnecessary build-up of idle or obsolete property. The campus property manager should be notified regarding all supplies, equipment, and materials which are no longer needed. After the Surplus Property unit has made all attempts to redistribute surplus items on campus, within the University System and to all State Agencies, they will then be offered to the general public through a competitive disposal process (sale, auction, etc.). The final option for disposal of unwanted materials is the sale to scrap dealer(s) in bulk lots.

The campus Property Control Officer is responsible for all arrangements for the disposal of property on campus through transfer, sale, and/or destruction. Multiple avenues are available for the recovery of some compensation for replacement property. These options as well as the restrictions are outlined below:

1. For those units/departments wishing to retain ownership and full negotiating authority to secure internal compensation (exchange for goods or funds from another department, campus, or state entity) for replacement property, they should not send the goods to the Surplus Property unit, but rather retain the items until removed by the buying entity. Prior written approval for the disposition must still be obtained from the campus Property Control Officer. Methods used by the Surplus Property unit to advertise merchandise will be made available, but the storage of these goods remains the responsibility of the owner (department).
2. Net Proceeds from the sale of declared State Replacement Property handled by the campus Surplus Property unit may be split 50/50 between the Surplus Property operation and the original owner (department) after all extraneous disposal costs have been deducted. This split arrangement is not applicable when items are sold in bulk lots with low dollar value making the split cumbersome to track.
3. Right of negotiations for best deal and actual disposal method passes to the Surplus Property management when goods are in the possession of the Surplus Property unit.
4. Transfer of state owned merchandise to individuals without charge is prohibited without the explicit written approval of the Property Control Officer.
5. The sale of surplus merchandise to any outside entity must be approved by the campus Property Control Officer.

As amended July 2014