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Online and On Sale

A New Best Practice Provides Revenue Boost to One Ohio County

By Steve Faulkner – Public Affairs Staff Writer

Most counties in Ohio ship obsolete items such as old desks, chairs and computers to out-of-the-way warehouses and storage rooms. There, they are often left to gather dust, lose value and sit neglected for months – sometimes years – at a time. But that’s not the case in Montgomery County, where Purchasing and Central Services Director Roy Sigritz is using the internet to sell used county merchandise at a premium.

“The results have just been astonishing,” Sigritz said.

In 2001, Sigritz worked with the County Commissioners Association of Ohio to lobby the legislature for a change in state law that would allow him to sell Montgomery County’s obsolete and outdated furniture and equipment on the internet. Prior to that, Ohio law required local governments to sell used items by public auction or sealed bids, often only once or twice a year. Sigritz says that approach attracted mostly scrap dealers and flea market operators.

Montgomery County is the first county in Ohio to implement this “best practice.” According to Sigritz, the county made $260,000 in the first 12 months after switching to internet sales in 2002. Since then, the county has made more than $4 million. In the three years prior to Sigritz’s idea becoming a reality, the county had averaged sales of just $82,000 a year.

Not only has Sigritz increased county revenues without a tax or fee increase, he has also reduced spending by eliminating handling costs and the need for additional warehouse space.

“In some cases we don’t even have to move the items. If there’s a copier in an office that becomes surplus, we can snap a digital picture of it, put it on the internet and the person who buys it can pick it up directly from the office,” Sigritz said. “It’s win-win.”

Sigritz has sold items ranging from standard office equipment to fire trucks, street sweepers and everything in between. He even sold a John Deere front-end loader, which was reduced to charred metal following a garage fire, for $20,000.

"With some of the things like that, you just say, ‘Oh my gosh, I can’t believe it sold for that amount,'" said Sigritz.

Sigritz says internet shoppers from across the United States and Canada have bid on Montgomery County’s obsolete items on www.govdeals.com. His idea has become so successful, the county has partnered with several local police and fire departments, cities, townships and villages – even Sinclair College – to sell their used goods the same way.