HomeMy WebLinkAbout2652 Acceptance of Donations and GiftsOrdinance No. 2652
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF PORT TOWNSEND, WASHINGTON,
CREATING A NEW CHAPTER 3.42, ACCEPTANCE OF DONATIONS TO THE
CITY, TO THE PORT TOWNSEND MUNICIPAL CODE ESTABLISHING
POLICIES AND PROCEDURES FOR THE ACCEPTANCE AND ADMINISTRATION
OF DONATIONS, GIFTS, DEVISES OR BEQUESTS TO THE CITY
WHEREAS, the City is periodically approached by private citizens, business groups or
other organizations desiring to contribute monetary and/or nonmonetary (personal or real property)
donations for public purposes; and
WItEREAS, pursuant to RCW 35A. 11.040, the City is authorized to accept any gift or
grant for any public purpose and may carry out any conditions of such gift or grant when not in
conflict with state or federal law; and
WItEREAS, the City council desires to delegate the authority to accept specified donations
to Department Heads, the Mayor, the Finance Committee, or the Library Board, as appropriate;
and
WHEREAS, the City Council desires that all gifts of real property be accepted by council
resolution (unless for library purposes, in which case this authority is delegated to the Library
Board pursuant to RCW 27.12.210 and .300); and
WHEREAS, the City desires to establish policies and procedures in order to accept
donations; and
WHEREAS, the Finance Committee has reviewed this ordinance on June 9, 1998, and
unanimously recommended its approval,
NOW, THEREFORE, the City Council of the City of Port Townsend does ordain as
follows:
SECTION I. A new Chapter 3.42, Acceptance of Donations to the City, is hereby
created to read as follows:
3.42.010
3.42.020
3.42.030
3.42.040
3.42.050
3.42.060
3.42.070
Chapter 3.42
Acceptance of Donations to the City
Purpose.
Def'mitions.
Funds - Accounting.
Acceptance of donations in general; donor's desired use or conditions.
Acceptance of monetary donations.
Acceptance of non-monetary donations.
Donations to the library.
3.42.010 Purpose.
The purpose of this chapter is to authorize the acceptance of donations for any public purpose,
pursuant to RCW 35A. 11.040, and to specify policies and procedures for doing so. (Ord. 2652
§ 1, 1998.)
3.42.020 Definitions.
"Department Head" includes the head of any city department, or his or her designee.
"Donation" is defined as any monetary or non-monetary gift, grant, devise or bequest to the city
of Port Townsend. A monetary donation includes cash or a check, money order or other
negotiable instrument. A non-monetary donation includes real or personal property. In the event
of a stock donation, since a government entity is not legally able to own stock, such a donation
would be liquidated and turned into cash or another liquid asset, and treated as a monetary
donation.
"Mayor" includes the Mayor of the City of Port Townsend, or his or her designee. (Ord. 2652 §
1, 1998.)
3.42.030 Funds - Accounting.
The city of Port Townsend finance department is responsible for providing for the deposit and
financial administration of any donation to the city. If necessary, the finance department shall
track the proposed use of any such donation and shall maintain separate records of accounts
showing receipts and disbursements. The finance director may establish further rules and
regulations for the accounting and administration of donations, consistent with this chapter, as
deemed necessary by the director. (Ord. 2652 § 1, 1998.)
3.42.040 Acceptance of donations in general; donor's desired use or conditions.
The City has the discretion to accept or decline any proposed donation, whether conditioned or
not, subject to the provisions of this chapter. In the event a department head has reason to believe
a donation could cause or result in an appearance of impropriety, the department head shall consult
with the city attorney prior to accepting the donation. Conditioned donations shall be assigned
to a project or existing fund consistent with the donor's desired use, as long as such condition(s)
do not conflict with city, state or federal law, in which case the city shall ask that the condition(s)
be removed or decline the donation. (Ord. 2652 § 1, 1998.)
3.42.050 Acceptance of monetary donations.
A. Donations Under $5,000.00. The mayor or all department heads are hereby authorized
to accept any monetary donation of less than $5,000.00 on behalf of the city, and shall deposit
such monies with the finance department.
2 Ord. 2652
B. Donations Greater than $5,000.00. Donations of any amount greater than $5,000.00 must
first be approved by the finance committee, so that the city can evaluate any policy implications
associated with the donation.
C. Conditioned Donations. In the event that a monetary donation is conditioned or donated
for a special purpose, prior to acceptance, the mayor, department head or finance committee
(depending on who is accepting the donation under subsections A and B) should consider the long-
term impacts of the donation, particularly where there could be significant future or ongoing
operations and maintenance or capital costs associated with the donation.
D. Council Notification. Staff should notify council of all accepted donations so that the
donor's generosity can be officially acknowledged by council. (Ord. 2652 § 1, 1998.)
3.42.060 Acceptance of non-monetary donations.
A. Donations of Personal Property Valued at $5.00 - $5,000.00. All donations of personal
property with a current value greater than $5.00 and less than $5,000.00 may be accepted by any
department director or the mayor, except as follows. In the event of a donation of personal
property which could require future maintenance or repair (e.g., office equipment), the
department director should first assess all related future costs and submit the assessment of
expenses to the mayor for approval prior to acceptance of the donation. In addition, if a
conditioned donation could have long-term impacts, such as significant operations and
maintenance or capital costs, the department head or mayor shall consult with the finance
committee prior to accepting the donation.
B. Donation of Personal Property Valued at Over $5,000.00. All donations of personal
property with a current value of $5,000.00 or more must first be approved by the city finance
committee (or in the event of library donations, the library board). If the personal property could
require future maintenance or repair, the department director should first assess all related future
costs and submit the assessment of expenses to the finance committee. For conditioned donations,
the department director should also provide the finance committee with an assessment of long-term
impacts, such as significant operations and maintenance or capital costs.
C. Donations of Real Property. All donations of real property, whether conditioned or
unconditioned, must first be approved by the city council by resolution. (Ord. 2652 § 1, 1998.)
3.42.070 Donations to the library.
Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, pursuant to RCW 27.12.210 and RCW
27.12.300 all donations to the library, including gifts of money and property, shall be considered
for acceptance by the library board of trustees, consistent with the library gift policy approved by
the library board on January 22, 1996, as it now exists or is later amended. (Ord. 2652 § 1,
1998.)
3 Ord. 2652
SECTION 2. Severability. If any provision of this ordinance or its application to any person
or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the ordinance, or the application of the provision
to other persons or circumstances is not affected.
This ordinance shall take effect and be in force five days after the date of its publication in the
manner provided by law.
Read for the first, second, and third times and adopted by the City Council of the City of Port
Townsend, Washington, at a regular meeting thereof, held this 15th day of June, 1998.
Attest:
eam Kolacy, cit; Clerk~~
07/08/98 [9840] OM{Donation.doc}
Jul~CulloCh, Mayor
Timoth, ti l~anJ, City~N"~Attom ~y~'~-~
4 Ord. 2652