AG 2012 07 16 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Disposing of Property: Procedures 151 The procedure, set out in G.S. 160A -269, is staged over several weeks, which may allow more bidders to participate than would be possible with a one -day auction, the former method of choice. The procedure begins when the local government receives an offer to purchase property. The offer may be unsolicited, may be the product of ne- gotiations between government officials and the offeror, or may be in direct response to solicitations from the government. Indeed, some local govern - ments have combined the upset bid procedure with one of other sales proce- dures by treating the high bid received at an auction or from sealed bids as the opening offer of an upset bid procedure.' Whatever the circumstances, the offer is reported to the governing board. If the board "proposes to accept" the offer, the upset bid procedure begins. Although the statute does not require it at this stage, the board typically adopts a resolution proposing to accept the offer and setting out the details of the sale. This resolution describes the property; describes the amount and terms of the initial offer; establishes the terms of the deposit requirement; details the upset bid procedures that will be followed; states the time period within which the final bid will be accepted or rejected; and sets out any other relevant details. Appendix A, in 1ection IV - -A, includes an example of such a resolution. The statute requires, as a condition of beginning the procedure, that the initial offeror submit to the local government's cleric a bid deposit in the amount of 5 percent of her bid. Furthermore, each bidder who . submits an upset bid must also submit a 5 percent bid deposit. The statute does not, however, specify the form of the deposit nor the circumstances under which the deposit is forfeited or may be released. Presumably the deposit should be forfeited if the current offeror attempts to withdraw her offer and should be released if an offer is upset; similarly, a deposit submitted with an unsuc- cessful bid should be released once it is clear the bid was unsuccessful. The board must establish these details and should then include them in the origi- nating resolution. 95. Using the high bid from an auction or sealed bid process may be necessary because the earlier procedure suffers from procedural flaws. Rather than start that other procedure all over, the government can, with the bidder's consent, take the high bid it has in hand and begin the upset bid procedure. . 96. See the discussion on the two possible methods of selecting the successful upset bidder infra at notes 97 and 98. Attachment number 6 E -1 Page 65