2009 News

March 31, 2009

Bucks County Surplus Sales: Online Values, Public Benefit

Bucks County Asset Manager Pete McElroy joins the county General Services department to inform Bucks County taxpayers about the multiple steps the county has taken to maximize public sale of surplus items.

Through a collaboration of departments that includes Purchasing, General Services and Finance – with the full support of Commissioners Charles Martin, Jim Cawley and Diane Ellis-Marseglia, Chief Operating Officer David Sanko and Finance Director Brian Hessenthaler – the county has netted over $100,000 in surplus sales during the first quarter of 2009.  This financial benefit has been generated through two Web sites, www.PublicSurplus.com and www.GovDeals.com, which are prominently linked to the home page of the official county Web site, www.BucksCounty.org. Both of these are no-fee sites, meaning taxpayers receive the full benefit of the items’ sale. The public is invited to view a constantly evolving list of surplus items by clicking on the blue “Surplus” icon at the bottom of the home page.

As a part of the surplus process, the county has utilized community service efforts to detail eligible county vehicles, thereby adding resale value and teaching a trade simultaneously. Furthermore, the Human Services department created and manages a non-profit organization wish list, also accessible through the county Web site. To date, the county has donated “as is” items such as desks, file cabinets, chairs, and even a piano to groups including the Morrisville Senior Center and the Lenape Valley Foundation. The county invites organizations to join the non-profit wish list through the Human Services Web page on www.BucksCounty.org.

The history of Bucks County surplus sales dates back to once-a-year sales, during which the winning, hand-written bids were culled from a shoebox. In 2005, county officials tried EBay, which didn’t make sense given the up-front costs involved. For the last three-and-a-half years, the county has offered surplus on PublicSurplus.com and GovDeals.com at no cost to county taxpayers.

Bucks County is committed to offering surplus to the public – online - as it becomes available.