Surplus Equipment Process

What to Do With City Equipment That is No Longer Needed

Do you have surplus items, such as office furniture or electronic equipment, that your department no longer has use for? If so, use this guide to ensure that your surplus goods are handled in the most environmentally-friendly and socially-beneficial manner.

Designate a Department Representative

Before going through the surplus equipment procedure, check-in to see if your department already has a Designated Department Representative that knows how to go through this process. If not, ask your supervisor about becoming a Designated Department Representative so that you can start contributing to a culture of sustainability within the City.

Best Practices

Employees going through the Surplus Equipment Policy process are responsible for scheduling the transfer of the surplus items to other employees, nonprofit/school and/or individual employees for personal use.
The person claiming the equipment must come to you to collect the equipment; you are not responsible for delivering the equipment.
Equipment will be transferred based on a first-come-first-served basis.

Note that in all cases except electronic equipment, the employee or Designated Department Representative must fill out the Surplus Equipment Procedure Form, which can be found in the menu-bar on the left, after the process has been completed.

All Other Equipment

Step 1: Is the Item Over $1,000?

If the item is over $1,000—estimate by checking re-use sites such as eBay or Craigslist—or has clear re-sale value, the employee should contact the Public Works Administrative Supervisor to coordinate the transfer of the items.

Then fill out the surplus equipment form and you're done.

Step 2: See if Any City Departments Could Use the Item

If the item is under $1,000, the employee should then attempt to see if any City Departments could make use of the item. The employee should send out an email to the City-wide distribution list with the following template:

After waiting at least a week (preferable), but no less than 2 business days, the employee may then proceed to the next step after filling out the surplus equipment form for any items that have been donated to City Departments.

If there are no more surplus items remaining, the employee has completed the surplus equipment process.

Step 3: See if Any Local Tax-Exempt Organizations Could Use the Item(s)

If no City Departments are interested in the item, the employee should then attempt to see if any local tax-exempt organizations are interested in the item. The employee should send out an email to this Listserv (link to e-mails) with the following template

To make it as simple as possible, we recommend copying and pasting the item list (including descriptions and photos) you sent to City Departments and removing any items that were claimed.

After waiting at least a week (preferable), but no less than 2 business days, the employee may then proceed to step 4 after filling out the surplus equipment form for any items that have been donated to tax-empt organizations.

If there are no more surplus items remaining, the employee has completed the surplus equipment process.

Step 4: See if Any City Employees Want the Item for their Personal Use

If no local tax-exempt organizations are interested in the item, the employee should then attempt to see if any City employees would like the item for their own personal use. The employee should send out another email to the City-wide distribution list with the following template

To make it as simple as possible, we recommend copying and pasting the item list (including descriptions and photos) you sent to Tax-exempt Organizations and removing any items that were claimed.

Important things to note for Step 4:

all employees must receive the communication at once—make it easy on yourself by using the City Employee e-mail distribution list
the employee conducting the process may not claim the item(s) until at least 2 business days have gone by for other employees to claim the item
any employee involved in the procurement of an item is automatically disqualified from claiming the item for personal use
City resources—including time, money, and vehicles—may not be used in the transfer of these items for personal use

Please fill out the surplus equipment form for any items that have been donated to City Employees for Personal Use. If there are no more surplus items remaining, the employee has completed the surplus equipment process.

Optional Step: Post the Item on Online Marketplace (Craigslist, Freecycle, Facebook Marketplace, etc.) for General Public Use

If no City employees are interested, the employee may take the additional step of posting the item to an online marketplace—such as Craigslist, Freecycle, or Facebook Marketplace—to see if anyone in the General Public is interested in the item. Check out our tips page for making these posts: Posting on Online Marketplaces

Step 5: Send the Item to Facility Repair

If you’ve made it this far into the process, you should then contact Facility Repair to have them collect the item. Once there, the items will be stored, repurposed, or sent to Marin Resource Recovery Center for proper disposal.

Please fill out the surplus equipment form for any items that have been sent to Facility Reapir.