Section 471.195 Unclaimed Property; Disposal
471.195 UNCLAIMED PROPERTY; DISPOSAL.
(1) Any city may by ordinance provide for the custody and disposal of property lawfully coming into its possession in the course of municipal operations and remaining unclaimed by the owner. Such ordinance may provide for the sale of such property to the highest bidder at public auction or sale or by a private sale through a nonprofit organization that has a significant mission of community service, after the property has been in the possession of the municipality for a period of at least 60 days. If the sale is to be by public auction, the city shall give ten days' published notice describing the property found or recovered and to be sold, and specifying the time and place of the sale. The notice must be published at least once in a legal newspaper published in the city or, if there is none in the city, published in the county. Consistent with other applicable statutory or charter provision, the ordinance shall designate the fund into which the proceeds of any such sale shall be placed, subject to the right of the former owner to payment of the sale price from the fund upon application and satisfactory proof of ownership within six months of the sale or such longer period as provided by ordinance.
(2) This section does not limit the power of any municipality under any other statutory or charter authority.
History:
1957 c 382 s 1,2; 1967 c 295 s 2; 1971 c 923 s 1; 1973 c 123 art 5 s 7; 1995 c 79 s 1