According to the University Moveable Equipment Manual:

When a University department declares a piece of inventoried State equipment surplus to its needs: that equipment will be offered to other University departments first, then to other State agencies and to the municipalities, school systems, or non-profit agencies.

It is the policy of the University of Rhode Island to only permit the sale of State Property when it has been declared surplus and none of the above has expressed an interest in it. Those transactions are negotiated by the state Surplus Property Program through the Property & Support Services Department.

How the process is handled:

1. If another department decides to take the surplus equipment, the transfer information is updated in the INSITE database system by the Property & Support Services staff. If it requires a Central Receiving staff member to move the equipment, a work order is generated for that move.
2. If another State agency decides it wants the surplus equipment, the Coordinator of Property Acquisitions will handle the transfer paperwork. The agency is responsible for the physical moving of the item(s) and will incur all expenses.
3. If the surplus equipment is to be directly donated to municipalities, school systems, or non-profit agencies, the current owner obtains a letter from the requester. This letter must verify their identification number, include a statement confirming their interest in the equipment, and state that they will incur all expenses of the physical moving of the item(s). The Coordinator will work with the current owner to verify documentation before equipment is released. After verification, the Coordinator will send a letter of authorization to the department head (along with documenting paperwork) giving that person the authority to donate the equipment.
4. The surplus equipment can only be sold “via a surplus bid solicited by the URI Purchasing Department” after all procedures have been followed. A College Requisition must be initiated by URI Property & Support Services for the sale of surplus. The following items are required for this process.

• Per RIGL 37-2-45, a memo addressed to the Chief Purchasing Officer. The request shall describe the property and state the reasons why the agency believes disposal should be effected.
• Completed Bid Sheet. The form is available on the URI Purchasing website.
• A list of suggested vendors for the surplus.

These items should be submitted to the Coordinator, Property Acquisitions

All funds collected from the sale of surplus property are to be deposited into the surplus account to be used by the department of future equipment purchases. These funds cannot be used for services.

Note:  Please be advised that the entire process could take from six months to a year to complete.