The city is changing the way it’s doing business regarding disposing of items that are no longer needed. Rather than having a yearly auction, they are joining the digital age and will be placing items on GovDeals.com. The internet auction services is similar to an ebay setup, but caters to government entities. “This is a great asset to the city,” said North Royalton Fire Chief, Bob Chegan, who initiated the idea for the city to join. He and Finance Director, Eric Dean, spearheaded the push to get the city to utilize this website. “Not only will this benefit the Fire Department, but also the Police Department, Wastewater Department and Service Department,” said Chegan. “A lot of other cities in the area are using it. It’s been around for a while.” Chegan said that items, such as the city’s old ladder truck, will benefit from a site like this, as it has a far and broad reach of buyers. The old ladder truck was originally going to be traded in, but because of its age and the fact that it is inoperable, a trade-in was not acceptable to the company building the new ladder truck. Chegan said that GovDeals.com might be able to reach a potential buyer who may be looking for parts for another ladder truck of this vintage.
City Council passed an ordinance at their April 18 meeting to authorize the Mayor to enter into an agreement with GovDeals.com, a Delaware corporation that operates from Montgomery, Alabama, to permit the sale and disposal of municipal property. This authorization was allowable under the authority of the Ohio Revised Code, Section 721.15(D). With the adoption of this ordinance, the city can now utilize this Internet auction service website to sell and dispose of items that are no longer necessary or suitable for the city’s use. The state law was enacted to allow for the use of the Internet, in order to not only make it easier to dispose of these types of items, but to allow for a wider audience of potential buyers. The state has set the terms and restrictions that mandate that the bidding be held for a minimum of ten consecutive days.
As a client of GovDeals.com, the city has the capability of providing a description of the item, as well as provide an unlimited number of pictures; set up different auction phases, based on times and dates and set a minimum price, bid increments and reserves. A help desk is accessible during normal business hours, via phone or emails.
In order to utilize the service, the city will pay a percentage of the value of the item, based on a flexible pricing option, where the city can agree to pay a portion and the seller pay a portion. They will be invoiced for the fees on the first day of the month following the month the item is sold. Payment is then expected within 30 days from the receipt of the invoice.
“I think it’s a good idea,” said Mayor Bob Stefanik. “We have our auction once a year and we’re not getting out to a large group. With this, we get a larger number of people looking at it. We could get more for our product. We’ll see how it goes and see if it make sense to continue.”
By GLORIA PLEVA KACIK
Contributing Writer