§ 7-38-58 — Personal property sale requirements

A. The county treasurer must offer for sale all personal property seized by a demand warrant within sixty days of the date it is seized. B. Notice of the sale must be published in a newspaper of general circulation within the county where the personal property is to be sold at least once a week for the three weeks immediately preceding the week of the sale. The notice shall state the time and place of the sale and describe the personal property to be sold. The treasurer shall make a special effort to give notice of the sale to persons with a particular interest in special property and, apart from the requirements stated above, shall advertise the sale in a manner appropriate to the kind of property being sold. C. Personal property must be sold at public auction either by the treasurer or an auctioneer hired by him. The auction shall be held at a time and place designated by the treasurer. D. If a property owner's personal property is not sufficiently divisible to enable the treasurer to sell part of it and extinguish the tax delinquency, the treasurer may sell all of the personal property to extinguish the delinquency and return the remaining proceeds to the property owner. E. Before the sale, the treasurer shall determine a minimum sale price for the personal property. In determining the minimum price, the treasurer shall consider the value of the property owner's interest in the personal property, the amount of delinquent taxes, penalties and interest for which it is being sold and the expenses of the sale. Personal property may not be sold for less than the minimum price unless no offer met the minimum price when it was offered at an earlier public auction. F. Payment must be made in full and must be made immediately after an offer is accepted. G. If, prior to the time of the sale, the property owner pays his personal property taxes, penalties and interest due and any costs incurred in preparing for the sale, or makes satisfactory arrangements with the treasurer for the payment of these amounts, the treasurer shall return his personal property to him.

Legislative History

1953 Comp., § 72-31-58, enacted by Laws 1973, ch. 258, § 98; 1974, ch. 92, §