Responsibilities Of Surplus Property Personnel

(1) Each Surplus Property Department is responsible for completing a form(s) for departments to declare property as surplus. The forms must be approved by the Controller’s Office, and at a minimum contain the following: (a) Name and location of the department declaring the property as surplus. (b) Location of the property such as building and room number. (c) Departmental contact information including e-mail and telephone. (d) Itemized description of each piece of equipment that has a UT tag number. Non-tagged items do not have to be itemized, if impractical (i.e., 100 classroom chairs). (e) The form must require the signature of the department head or designee that is declaring the property surplus and the campus surplus department personnel who are picking up the property. Electronic or digital signatures are acceptable. (f) The form(s) must require the identification of all computers or other devices that may potentially store confidential information. (g) The form(s) must require the identification of any chemicals or equipment that may be considered radioactive, hazardous, toxic, or require special handling to comply with applicable environmental regulations. (h) The form must allow for routing to the Controller’s office for removal or transfer of surplus property. (2) The Surplus Property Personnel are responsible for developing procedures to ensure that all computers, hard drivers or other equipment that may store university data have been sanitized and the data is unreadable before the equipment is disposed of or sold. SURPLUS PROPERTY CHAPTER 1720-01-15 (3) The Surplus Property Personnel are responsible for contacting their safety officer(s) or other appropriate personnel whenever property is being declared surplus from a lab or whenever any equipment may contain hazardous material that may pose a safety concern. Surplus property personnel are responsible for developing procedures with their safety officer(s) to ensure that all potentially hazardous chemicals and equipment are disposed of in a manner that complies with applicable federal, state and university regulations. (4) Surplus property personnel are responsible for ensuring that an adequate audit and inventory trail exists for all items of surplus property. This would include from the time that property is transferred to their possession until the sale or disposal of the item. (5) Surplus property personnel are responsible for determining which of the following disposal methods is the most advantageous. One (1) of these methods must be used: (a) Publicly advertised auction. (b) Transfer to another university department. (c) Publicly advertised sale under sealed bids. (d) Internet auction. (e) Negotiated contract for sale at arm’s length (conducted among unrelated parties), but only for property that becomes surplus regularly, such as livestock, forestry products, and marketable waste products, but not motor vehicles. (f) Transfer to other state agencies, student association or public school systems. (g) Sale to state and other governmental entities. (h) Transfer to non-profit entities approved by the Tennessee Department of General Services. (i) The property may be destroyed by an appropriate method, if it is determined that it has no salvage or economic value. (6) The System Risk Management Office must approve of the disposal method for any property involved in an insurance claim. (7) The Surplus Property Department is responsible for forwarding all applicable documents to the Controller’s office for all university tagged equipment that is disposed of by them or transferred by them to another university department. This must occur as soon as the property is no longer in their possession. (8) When a Surplus Property Department (or designee) decides to dispose of surplus property by public auctions or sealed bids, these proposed sales must be publicly advertised and publicly held. The Surplus Property Department (or designee) conducting the sale must advertise it in at least two (2) public places in the county or counties in which the sale is to be made. The notice must describe the property, date, time, place, manner, and conditions of the sale. The sale must not be held sooner than seven (7), nor later than fifteen (15), days after the last day of the public notice (excluding weekends and holidays). (9) No person, firm, or corporation may be sent invitations to bid on proposed sales unless no other market has been found for the property without requesting such bids. Prospective buyers for various types of surplus property may be sent copies of the published notice, or they may be notified that a public notice has been posted on a stated date. SURPLUS PROPERTY CHAPTER 1720-01-15