Section 45-51-232 Sale of Abandoned, Stolen, and Unclaimed Property.

(a) The Sheriff of Montgomery County shall sell, at public auction, any abandoned and stolen personal property recovered by the sheriff’s department which has remained unclaimed by the rightful owner for a period of six consecutive months. (b) The Sheriff of Montgomery County shall keep and maintain a permanent record of all abandoned and stolen personal property recovered by the sheriff’s department which states the description of the property, the date of recovery, the serial or other identifying number, and the place of recovery of the property. The records shall be open to public inspection at reasonable times. All abandoned or stolen property recovered by the sheriff’s department shall be stored in a suitable place to protect the property from deterioration. After reasonable attempts have been made to locate and identify the owner, perishable property may be sold at once without notice. The proceeds shall be held for a period of six months for the account of the owner, and, if unclaimed after that time, shall be paid to the sheriffs fund for use by the sheriff’s department after deducting and paying all expenses incurred in the recovery, storage, maintenance, and sale of the property. (c) At least every six months, the Sheriff of Montgomery County shall sell at public auction to the highest bidder for cash all abandoned or stolen personal property which has been recovered by the sheriff’s department, which has remained unclaimed by the rightful owner after a period of six months. The sales shall be made after notice has been given by publication in a newspaper of general circulation in Montgomery County once a week for two successive weeks and by posting notice in a conspicuous place at the Montgomery County Courthouse for a period of at least 20 days prior to the sale. The notice shall contain the place, date, and time of each auction and a description of each item of personal property to be sold at auction. If publication of the notice is made by publication in the newspaper, the first notice shall run at least 20 days prior to the auction. (d) The owner of any abandoned or stolen personal property recovered by the sheriff’s department may redeem the property at any time prior to its sale by paying any reasonable expenses incurred in the recovery of the property, its maintenance and storage, and a pro rata share of the costs of publication of notice of the sale of the property. (e) Whenever any property is sold at public auction, a notation in the storage record book shall be made of the sale and of the amount received for the property. All sales shall be paid in cash. The person conducting the sale shall have the right to reject any and all bids if the bid amount is unreasonably low and may continue the sale, from time to time, if no bidders are present. (f) The proceeds from any auction remaining after deducting and paying all expenses incurred in the recovery, storage, maintenance, and sale of property sold at the auction shall be paid into the sheriffs fund for the office of the Sheriff of Montgomery County. (g) The use of such funds from the sheriff’s fund shall in no way diminish or take the place of any other source of income established for the sheriff in the operation of his or her department. (h) The Department of Examiners of Public Accounts is hereby authorized to audit the monies annually and submit a copy of the audit to the sheriff within 30 days of its completion.