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RESOLUTION RESCINDING ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER 7-20 AND AUTHORIZING IMPLEMENTING ORDER 7-20: DISPOSAL OF UNCLAIMED PERSONAL PROPERTY

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WHEREAS, this Board desires to accomplish the purposes outlined in the accompanying memorandum, a copy of which is incorporated herein by reference,

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, FLORIDA, that this Board rescind Administrative Order 7-20 and authorize Implementing Order 7-20, Disposal of Unclaimed Personal Property.

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Date:

To: Honorable Joe A. Martinez, Chairman
and Members, Board of County Commissioners

From: Carlos A. Gimenez
Mayor

Subject: Implementing Order No. 7-20:Disposal of Unclaimed Personal Property

STAFF RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation:

It is recommended that the Board of County Commissioners approve the attached resolution rescinding Administrative Order No. 7-20 and adopting Implementing Order No. 7-20, Disposal of Unclaimed Personal Property. The previous Administrative Order 7-20 was reviewed during a management analysis study conducted by the Office of Management and Budget at the request of the Miami-Dade Corrections and Rehabilitation Department regarding inmate personal property. This review afforded various recommendations to garner efficiencies, including the need to revise the retention period for unclaimed personal property stored by the Department in order to minimize unnecessary storage costs.

Scope
Implementing Order 7-20, Disposal of Unclaimed Personal Property impacts countywide services.

Fiscal Impact/Funding Source
Miami-Dade County will not incur any costs from the proposed revisions to the Implementing Order 7-20, but will benefit from operational efficiencies.

Track Record/Monitor
The responsibility of inmate personal property is managed by Captain Wendy Mayes of the Corrections Intake and Release Bureau, Miami-Dade Corrections and Rehabilitation Department.

MANAGER'S BACKGROUND
Background:

Florida State law establishes policies that local governments must follow in handling and disposing of unclaimed property. The current Administrative Order 7-20 outlines Miami-Dade County�s internal procedures for adhering to these laws, but does not specifically address inmate personal tangible property. Therefore, Implementing Order 7-20, which governs several different types of property, including lost/found items, property seized as evidence and abandoned property has been revised to include specific provisions for inmate property. The Implementing Order also distinguishes between intangible property, which is money or monetary equivalents, and tangible property, which are other forms of property.

Miami-Dade Corrections and Rehabilitation Department is responsible for storing inmate property during an inmate�s period of incarceration. Due to space limitations at the correctional facilities, a large amount of inmate property is stored off-site in a warehouse. Unfortunately, this means that this property is not immediately available to inmates upon their release. Therefore, many inmates must be released without the return of their personal property, which may take up to 3 days to be retrieved. Inmates are notified telephonically once their property becomes available for pick-up at Pre-Trial Detention Center. However, they frequently do not return to claim their property. Currently, Administrative Order 7-20 mandates that this unclaimed inmate property be retained for a minimum of 180 days, upon an inmate�s release. As a result, the Department is required to store voluminous amounts of property that remain unclaimed. During the management review, it was determined that there were approximately 17,800 packages of former inmates� apparel in storage.

The Department requested that the Office of Management and Budget conduct an analysis of the inmate property function in order to identify opportunities for efficiencies. The analysis[MG1] suggests that 80 to 90 percent of inmate apparel is never claimed and is ultimately destroyed. Additionally, benchmarking research reveals that other large county jail systems in Florida and nationally typically store unclaimed inmate property for 30 days or less upon an inmate�s release, and destroy the property if unclaimed. As such, one of the several recommendations from this analysis is a revision to existing County policies regarding retention requirements of unclaimed inmate property.

Therefore, it is recommended that Administrative Order 7-20 be rescinded and Implementing Order 7-20 be adopted to allow the Department to dispose of unclaimed inmate personal property 30 days following notification to the inmate of the property�s availability for pick-up. Unclaimed inmate personal property shall not be held beyond 45 days after an inmate�s release. The proposed changes do not impact procedures for the disposition of unclaimed money or monetary equivalents, which is subject to State law. The proposed changes also explicitly permit the Department to either dispose of, or release to a designated third party, the inmate�s personal property upon written, notarized authorization by the inmate. This will facilitate the ability of the inmate to have their property retrieved quickly. Instructions regarding inmate personal property, including its retrieval and disposal, will be included in the property receipt form as well as in the Inmate Orientation Handbook, available in English, Spanish and Creole. It is estimated that this change will result in a decrease in property storage requirements of up to 65 percent, which will result in operational efficiencies. Additionally, the Implementing Order includes minor updates to departmental names.




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Genaro �Chip� Iglesias
Deputy Mayor