Wright State University
Policy number: 5403
Subject: Excess and Surplus Property Management (ESPM)
Date issued: Revised/February 2006
Authority: Vice President for Business and Fiscal Affairs; Administrative
Memorandum 83-1 (January 18, 1983)
References: Director of Business Services
5403.1 General Policy for Disposal of Excess and Surplus Property
- The university established the Excess and Surplus Property Management
(ESPM) program to coordinate disposal of excess and surplus property. The
Materials Management department has responsibility for the program.
- The primary means by which university property of any kind can be sold
to the general public, transferred between departments, cannibalized, salvaged,
or scrapped is through the ESPM program. The program applies to equipment
or materials purchased or donated with gift, grant, or contract funds or
unrestricted general fund money, with title vested in the university.
- For general information and a list of services provided by the ESPM office,
visit the ESPM business page at http://www.wright.edu/admin/espm.
- Unauthorized removal, disposal, or expropriation of any university owned
property, regardless of estimated value, constitutes a breach of university
policy and can be construed as misappropriation.
- Departments may declare property excess and transfer control of it to
ESPM. The releasing department will benefit financially, either by income
from an outright sale of property or by transfer of funds from the university
department purchasing the property.
- The ESPM program will not accept hazardous waste. Refer to Wright Way
Policy 6013 (Waste Management).
5403.2 Definitions
Within this policy the following definitions apply to the ESPM program:
- Owning department: the department having the authority to declare
property excess.
- Excess: property that is not needed by the owning department.
- Surplus: property that is not needed by any department or organization
within the university.
- Recycle: generally means to sell paper, batteries, oil, glass,
metals, etc., to an external entity for reprocessing and remarketing.
- Salvage: surplus material that is not a complete operating unit
but is a component of equipment that has been cannibalized (switches, bearings,
etc.) or a structure that has been dismantled (doors, sinks, etc.). Although
not a complete unit, salvage
has utility and economic value in its present form.
- Scrap: surplus material such as metal shavings, broken components,
or inoperable equipment that has no utility or economic value in its present
form.
- Internal sales: excess property that is sold and ownership transferred
from one university department to another, while the university retains
title.
- External sales: surplus property that is sold to any entity and
title or ownership is transferred to that entity.
5403.3 Sales and Service Fees
- Initially, excess property will be available for sale to other university
departments. In the event there is no market within the university, the
property may be made available for purchase by the general public.
- A service fee will be retained by ESPM from sale proceeds as listed below:
| Sale Price |
ESPM Service Fee |
| $ 0 to $ 4 |
0%
|
| $ 5 to $ 200 |
25% to a maximum of $ 30 |
| $ 201 to $ 2,000 |
15% to a maximum of $ 200 |
| $ 2,001 to $ 8,000 |
10% to a maximum of $ 400 |
| $ 8,001 and up |
5% to a maximum of $1,500 |
- Routine cleaning of excess property will be done by ESPM. Additional
fees may be deducted from the owning department's sale proceeds for repair
expense and/or for extraordinary handling or moving tasks incurred by ESPM.
5403.4 Preparing Surplus Computer Hardware for Disposal
- ESPM is not responsible for deleting software from computer equipment
that is to be surplused. When a department prepares to surplus computer
equipment, the owning department must contact the Electronics Shop (077
Brehm Lab) in the College of Science and Mathematics prior to placing the
item for sale. The Electronics Shop will certify that the computer is ready
for sale through ESPM by:
- removing all software, except the operating system, from the computer.
- removing all network and peripheral cards that are not being sold with
the computer. The cards will be returned to the disposing department.
- installing the operating system being sold with the computer.
- determining the operational condition of the computer.
- preparing a description of the computer.
- To request certification that a computer is ready for resale, the owning
department should contact the Electronics
Shop. There is a charge for this service.
- Any questions about preparing surplus computer hardware for disposal
should be referred to the Electronics Shop (775-2554).
5403.5 Authority to Declare Property Excess
- University property is any item, whether or not operable or a complete
unit, purchased by the university or donated to the university.
- Chairs, directors, or designees of the owning department of record may
declare university property as excess. The more advance notice given to
ESPM, the better the opportunity for ESPM to help a department receive greater
revenues or redistribution of property.
- A university department is responsible for verifying ownership of all
equipment and material before proceeding with disposal.
5403.6 Declaration, Pricing, and Transfer of Excess Property
- To declare property as excess, the ESPM Disposal Requisition must be
completed and signed by the appropriate department head.
- If the item is large or bulky and/or the value requires consultation,
ESPM staff will inspect the item on location before it is moved.
- If the value of an item is difficult to establish, ESPM office staff will
determine a fair market price. ESPM will make every effort to obtain the
best sale price. However, after 30 days from receipt of the property, ESPM
will lower the sale price of an item. Within 45 days after receipt of the
property, ESPM will dispose of all property in a manner that is most advantageous
to the university. Limited ESPM warehouse space precludes holding an item
more than 45 days.
- Owning departments should not send or take items to the ESPM Office. ESPM
employees will transfer items as space becomes available.
- The owning department of any excess property that has been contaminated
by chemical or biological agents is responsible for decontamination of the
property prior to release to ESPM. The department also is responsible for
the expense of decontamination. In addition, the owning department must
provide written documentation to ESPM and to the Department of Environmental
Health and Safety (EHS) prior to release to ESPM. If the excess property
contains or has been used in a radioactive materials use area, a survey
for radiation contamination must be performed prior to release to ESPM.
The university's Radiation Safety office shall perform the survey upon request.
If the excess property contains a hazardous material integral to the operation
of the equipment (i.e., asbestos, oil, mercury, refrigerant), it shall be
approved for release by a representative of EHS, prior to its release to
ESPM. The owning department is responsible for removal of all hazardous
materials as directed by EHS.
5403.7 Trade-In Consideration
- If a department is replacing an item with an identical or like item, trade-in
must be considered.
- The appropriate agent in the Purchasing department will contact the ESPM
office and the owning department and discuss disposal alternatives.
- Generally, the potential ESPM sales price for a trade-in item
must be 20 percent or higher than the trade-in price to be cost effective
to the department and the university.
- The ESPM program receives no commission for trade-in transactions.
5403.8 Loaned and/or Internally Transferred Property
- It is not the intention of the ESPM program to discourage lending and/or
the internal transfer of property. From time to time, it may be desirable
to borrow or reassign property from one unit to another. In those instances,
it is unnecessary to declare the property as excess.
- Since past policy did not permit a university department to share in
the proceeds of disposal, a considerable amount of property was loaned,
traded, and/or transferred among departments. It is not the intention
of the ESPM program to force a department utilizing borrowed equipment to
purchase the property. If property presently held by one department was
purchased by another, the owning department must declare the item excess.
Funds realized will be remitted to the unit that purchased the item.
- When ownership of capital equipment is transferred from one WSU department
to another, Property Records must be notified using a Property Status Change
form. Only internal sales or transfers of capital equipment may be reported
on the Property Status Change Form. The transfer of funds related to an
internal sale or transfer of capital equipment should be done using a Banner
journal voucher. All external sales must be reported on an ESPM Disposal
Requisitions (Form 1500).
5403.9 Cannibalized Property
- University property that is designated capital equipment should not be
cannibalized until consultation with the ESPM office. The ESPM office and
the owning department will jointly determine if cannibalization is in the
best interest of the university.
- If the property is cannibalized, the ESPM office will advise the Office
of the Controller to delete the property from university records.
5403.10 Budgetary Accounting Procedure
- Unique Account code 778200, in the miscellaneous series, will be used
for all buying and selling transactions in the ESPM program. A department
that
wishes to make a purchase from the ESPM program must buy from Account
code 778200. Cost includes capital equipment, as well as supply items.
Funds can be transferred into Account code 778200 from any other Account
code except
faculty, unclassified, classified, and graduate assistant personnel services
and staff benefits accounts.
- The selling department will receive the proceeds from the sale of its
excess property, and such proceeds will be recorded as follows: income
from
items sold internally shall be placed in Account code 778200 and external
sale income credited to Account code 705410. The funds in these accounts
can be
transferred to any other Account code.
- Funds remaining in Account code 778200 and/or Account code 705410 at
the end of the fiscal year will be carried over into the next fiscal year,
only
if a department has a positive budget balance available at year-end.
5403.11 Disposition of Proceeds from Internal Sales
- When an excess property item is sold internally, fund and property transfer
records must be completed. The fund transfer will be accomplished with
a
ESPM Invoice. The department buying an item must complete
the form, showing its department number, item purchased, cost, and authorized
signature.
The Fund Organization Program number of the department receiving the funds
also will be shown on ESPM Invoice.
- The ESPM office will determine the amount of commission to be allocated
to ESPM and the remaining amount to be allocated to the selling department.
- The Office of the Controller must be informed of the sale of excess capital
property. The Office of the Controller shall receive a copy of the original
ESPM Disposal Requisition following an internal sale. The selling department
is responsible for initiating and completing a Property Status Change Form.
- In some cases, property that was originally purchased as capital equipment
will be sold internally to a university department for less than the university's
capital equipment amount. In those instances, the equipment will move to
the recipient department inventory report at the original purchase price.
5403.12 Disposition of Proceeds from External Sales
- If no internal buyer for an excess item can be found, the property will
become surplus and, consequently, available for sale externally to private
entities. An external buyer will be required to print his/her name and
address on the ESPM Invoice.
- The following policy will apply to external sales:
- Sales are on an as is and where is basis
with no warranties of any kind.
- All sales are final with no returns or refunds allowed.
5403.13 Instructions for Completing the ESPM Disposal Requisition (Form 1500)
- An ESPM Disposal Requisition (Form 1500) must be submitted for the disposal
of all excess and surplus university owned property. The form must also
be used for items to be traded in, scrapped, or cannibalized.
- The ESPM Disposal Requisition is a prenumbered four-part form. The last
two copies (pink and goldenrod) should be retained by the releasing department,
and the remaining two copies (white and yellow) should be sent to ESPM (031
Allyn Hall). If the releasing department needs information concerning the
status of an item, it should contact the ESPM office and reference the requisition
number.
- The name and Fund Organization Program number of the releasing department
must be entered in the space provided, as well as the name, title, office,
and phone number
of the person in the releasing department who can be contacted by the ESPM
office concerning price, location, description, etc., of the item(s) shown
on the ESPM Disposal Requisition.
- The ESPM Disposal Requisition must be signed by the appropriate department
chair, director, or designee.
- The Fund Organization Program number of the department that will receive
the proceeds of a disposal must be shown in the space provided on the ESPM
Disposal Requisition.
Generally, this number will be the same as the releasing department number.
- The releasing department should check the appropriate box on the ESPM
Disposal Requisition to indicate if the property is excess, scrap, or to
be cannibalized. Items such as old batteries, metal, or items of no utility
or monetary value are labeled scrap.
- Only one capital item may be placed on the ESPM Disposal
Requisition. If an item to be excessed has an inventory tag, it is considered
capital for the purposes of ESPM, regardless of its current estimated value.
However, any number of non-capital or supply items may be shown on one requisition.
If a quantity of different supply items is placed on one ESPM Disposal Requisition,
they should be itemized as 1, 2, 3, etc., under the item number column.
For large quantities of non-capital items, a separate sheet of paper can
be attached to the requisition.
- The releasing department should complete the item description column on
the requisition as thoroughly as possible. Make, model, serial number, color,
and any outstanding features should be indicated. A description of missing
parts, extra or accessory equipment, operating condition, estimated cost
to repair, or other pertinent data should be noted. The location of the
item must also be shown, as well as the university capital tag number, if
the item is capital equipment.
- The owning department may suggest a selling price; however, ESPM may
or may not use the suggested price in order to sell the item.
5403.14 Disposing of Surplus Property
Immediately after a department identifies an item as
surplus, the department head must initiate an ESPM Disposal Requisition. When
ESPM personnel pick up an item from the owning department, they will sign all
four parts of the form and leave the last two copies (pink and goldenrod) with
the department. The owning department is responsible for sending the pink copy
of Form 1500 to Property Records, which will delete the item from the department's
inventory records.