Surplus Property Procedures

Surplus property items become the property of the Fixed Assets Department in Financial Services and are to be disposed of in accordance with procedures established by the North Carolina Department of Administration.   Each administrative unit shall declare all items of surplus property on a UNC Charlotte Equipment Disposal Transfer Form. This form must be forwarded to the Fixed Assets Office for processing.  University departments may also identify equipment needs to the Fixed Assets Officer who will attempt to match departmental needs with declared surplus items to the extent reasonable and practical.  Any surplus item not relocated to another place on campus will be submitted to the Division of Surplus Property, State Surplus Property Agency for public bid advertising or will be directed for sale at UNC Charlotte’s Surplus Property Store.

Surplus Property Store

Operation:  The Surplus Property Store shall operate between the hours of 9:00  AM and 1:00  PM on designated days and at a location to be published.  Items to be sold on designated days will be available for inspection from 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM on the preceding day.

Procedures and Regulation

• All sales shall be “as is, where is”
• Items must be removed at time of sale.
• There will be cash sales only (no checks, debit cards, or credit cards).  All sales are final.
• The maximum value of individual items sold in the store will be $100.00
• Sales shall be on a first come, first served basis.  No items may be set aside or reserved.
•  University employees who are responsible for pricing of items shall be prohibited from purchasing surplus goods until the public has been provided ample opportunity to acquire the property which shall be interpreted as after 10:00 AM on any given sale day.
• No more than the identified safe number of customers for the store location shall be admitted at any given time.
•  Any disputes which arise prior to sale regarding listing, condition, or pricing shall be resolved by the Surplus Store Manager.  If an error is determined, the item shall be removed from public sale, the property re-priced if applicable, and the property returned for sale.  Grievances in this matter may be appealed to the Associate Vice Chancellor for Finance.  If the matter is still not resolved satisfactorily, then the customer may utilize the grievance process of the State Surplus Property Agency.  The outcome of this process is final.
   

Accounting Guidelines

• Items shall be priced in accordance with general guidance provided by the State Surplus Property Agency.  If an item does not sell at its original price for two sale days, then the price may be reduced by 25%.  If the item does not sell in an additional sale day, an additional price reduction of 25% of the sales price will be taken.  If it still does not sell at that point, the Surplus Store Manager shall determine whether to offer an additional discount or to discard the item.
• All transactions shall be recorded by unique number on a two-part cash register receipt or a two-part manual receipt book. One copy shall be given to the customer, and one copy will be retained for accounting/auditing purposes.
• Cash shall be counted and reconciled to the hard copy receipts immediately upon closing each day of the sale.  Cash shall be deposited with the Cashiers’ Office before the end of the business day.
• The Fixed Assets Officer will remit required fees and report all sales through the retail store to the State Surplus Property Agency by the fifth business day after the end of each month.
   

Disposition of Proceeds from Surplus Store Funds

Proceeds from all sales are subject to a 5% fee to be paid to the State Surplus Property Agency and an additional 20% fee to be deposited to the University account for support of surplus property operations.  The balance of proceeds from Surplus Store sales will be deposited to the General Fund.  The balance of proceeds from negotiated and public bid sales shall be handled as follows:  

1. Auxiliary Funds. Since auxiliary funds are self-supporting, proceeds received from the sale of surplus items originally purchased by auxiliaries will be deposited to the appropriate auxiliary fund.

If an item is requested by a department on campus, the proceeds received by the auxiliary fund will be agreed upon by the two departments.   If an item is purchased by public bid sheets prepared by the Division of Surplus Property, the proceeds will be deposited to the auxiliary fund.

2. General Funds.  Proceeds received from the sale of surplus items purchased with appropriated funds will be deposited to the UNC Charlotte general fund.

If an item is requested by a department on campus, the item will be transferred to the requesting department's inventory list. The department receiving the item(s) will not be required to pay for them and the department that is giving up the items will receive no compensation.    If an item is purchased from public bid sheets prepared by the Division of Surplus Property, the proceeds received for the surplus item will be deposited to the UNC Charlotte general fund. 

3. Trust Funds.  Since trust funds are subject to restrictions placed by the grantor, any disposition of property purchased with trust funds will be handled on a case-by-case basis. “Trust funds” at UNC Charlotte include the following fund categories: discretionary funds, auxiliary and student fee funds, Millennial Campus trust funds, overhead receipts, restricted trust funds, specifically designated trust funds, and undesignated unrestricted trust funds. The Fixed Assets Officer will submit a form to Sponsored Programs requesting approval to dispose of the item(s) in question.  Sponsored Programs will clarify the disposal process for any item purchased with grant funds.

 

Disposition of Property

On the rare occasion that an item is not able to be relocated on campus, sold through the retail operation, sold through the State Surplus Property Agency, or given to the Recycling Office for recycling, Surplus Property will destroy and dispose of it. Such an item might be a chair that may be missing a leg or a major component that may render it unmarketable. In these circumstances, the following procedures apply:

• Any item that is to be discarded shall be destroyed to the point of rendering it unusable before disposing of in a waste receptacle by Surplus Property personnel.
• Two warehouse or Surplus Property staff must be present at the time the property is destroyed and discarded.
• The Surplus Property Sale/Destruction form will be signed by the two individuals who have destroyed and discarded the property.

Questions about this policy should be directed to the Associate Vice Chancellor for Finance.