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07/11/2023 11:48 AMThe Public Works Department is leading an effort to auction off older and superfluous equipment in an effort to clear out years’ worth of idle and unused tools and vehicles while funding the town’s general fund.
According to the department’s director, Dave Castro, the town will team up with a third-party vendor, Govdeals.com, to sell off the unwanted equipment. Castro said the process is similar to other online auction sites, and Govdeals.com coordinates the auctions, gathers photos of what municipalities are seeking to unload, and puts these items up for bid.
“We contact them [and] give them a list of what we want auctioned off. They come down and take pictures, we provide titles and whatever else they need, and it works pretty much like any standard auction,” Castro said.
According to Castro, previously, the town would sell items, including vehicles, simply for the scrap value. Though there is payment for that, it is a fraction of what is raised for items sold via an auction.
“We auction off vehicles, equipment, there’s all kinds of stuff. Older tools that we don’t use, there’s lots of stuff that can find a second use with this type of auction,” said Castro. “We used to just scrap it for the value of the metal, but we get a much better return through this process.”
One of the program’s benefits is that employees no longer need to set up, post, and monitor auctions. The time-consuming process is all completed by govdeals.com, freeing up workers for other critical duties.
“Last year’s auction went really well. We made a decent amount of money, ten of thousands of dollars,” Castro said.
The department handles not only its own equipment but also the needs of other town departments. According to Castro, numerous vehicles and categories of equipment require replacement every year.
“We’re making money for the general fund rather than just scrapping this stuff. Finding a second life for these items is great for everyone, buyers and sellers. Previously, much of this stuff would just sit and collect dust. We are cleaning up and finding quite a bit of things we don’t need and clearing space, and this allows us to consolidate and get rid of the items we don’t need,” said Castro. “We auction off everything from all of the departments; Public Works take all of the town’s equipment. Except for the fire department, we take the police department, town hall, park, and Rec; we take all the equipment and deal with it through the auction.”
Anyone can bid on items, according to Castro. Buyers come across New England and are a mix of private and municipal buyers.
“Anyone can bid; we get people from other states and see it. New Hampshire, Maine, from all over. They bid, come down and pick it up,” according to Castro.
“We are just getting all the paperwork ready for certain items, and we will be having another auction soon,” said Castro. “It will be posted online soon.”
According to town records, more than $55,000 was raised via last year’s auction. The vendor does not charge sellers and instead requires a 12.5% premium from buyers utilizing the site.
First Selectman Matt Hoey said the funds raised don’t necessarily provide a large impact on the town’s coffers but stressed how programs such as these save money in different ways and are part of the town’s overall fiscal ethos to bring down costs wherever possible.
“It’s not a significant amount in terms of dollars to the general fund, but it takes a significant burden off of us in regard to the process of getting rid of old equipment and vehicles,” Hoey said. “Heretofore, we had to post an auction ourselves, which meant notification in the paper and takes time and money. This significantly streamlines that process.”
Hoey praised the efforts by the Finance Department and the Public Works Department to find original ways to facilitate town services and save money.
“This is evidence of innovative thinking on the part of our staff to streamline some of these processes and still realizing value from old equipment that otherwise would basically have been thrown out,” said Hoey.