Property Control

Contact

Location

Moore Hall 124

Property Control Services

Assets/property that have no further utility within the department for which they were originally obtained should be reported as surplus on a Surplus Property Form.

Prior to declaring the asset surplus, it is recommended that the department managing the asset check with other departments in their building to see if anyone can use the asset/property. An Inventory Update Form transferring ownership needs to be completed if transferring assets to another department. If you need assistance to move an item from one department to another, please submit a Work Order.

If there is no interest in the surplus item, complete the Surplus Property Form. When completing this form, an authorized signature is required. The signature should be that of the department chairperson or his/her delegate. Use the Surplus Property Form to surplus property, NOT the Inventory Update Form.

To expedite removal of surplus property:

Have all miscellaneous non-related items found in or on the asset removed.
Secure any loose parts.
Drain any reservoir and remove any liquid ink and/or chemicals (contact Environmental Health and Safety at (716) 878-6113 or (716) 878-6128 for assistance with disposal).
Ensure that the property is free of any and all radioactive or hazardous materials (contact Environmental Health and Safety at (716) 878-6113 or (716) 878- 6128 with questions).
For computer and network printers, complete an Equipment Surrender IT Ticket . All other computer equipment such as monitors, local printers and other equipment should be listed on the Surplus Property Form.

Once completed, send original surplus form to Property Control, Moore Hall 124 or email to whitela@buffalostate.edu. Property Control will coordinate the pick-up of the items for surplus. No surplus property will be removed until a completed surplus form is received.

UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES SHALL ASSETS (PROPERTY/SUPPLIES) UNDER BUFFALO STATE UNIVERSITY'S JURISDICTION, LOCATED ON CAMPUS OR AT ANY OF ITS OFF-CAMPUS SITES, AND INCLUDING THOSE REGISTERED ON LOAN OF COLLEGE PROPERTY FORMS, BE PERMANENTLY REMOVED, SCRAPPED, DONATED, CANNABLIZED OR DESTROYED WITHOUT PRIOR WRITTEN APPROVAL FROM PROPERTY CONTROL.

Surplus Property Form

Surplus Warehouse

To conserve campus resources and minimize waste, Property Control maintains, and manages the reuse of, an extensive collection of office furniture. Desks, chairs, tables, lamps, and filing cabinets are just some of the items that are regularly available, free of charge, for on-campus use by Buffalo State employees. Before your office spends money on furniture, please schedule an appointment to shop the Surplus Warehouse.

Assets

Assets transferred to another State Agency

No state-purchased asset may be transferred to another non-SUNY unit on a permanent basis. Transfers within the SUNY system are permitted, with the approval of the Property Control office at both agencies.

Transfer of Assets from other State Agencies

The Office of General Services in Albany controls the transfer of surplused assets from one State agency to another. Departments or individual faculty members, who are aware of and interested in obtaining such assets, must contact Business Services to process the transfer documents. The Office of General Services will not allow the transfer of assets from one agency to another until acceptance by the receiving agency has been approved.

What about gifts received?

All gifts valued at $1500.00 or above should be reported to Property Control. Proposed gifts and bequests to Buffalo State University should be initially reviewed to determine that the University could meet any restrictions or limitations governing the gift or bequest.

When an item is being given to the University, it must be formally accepted by the Buffalo State College Foundation. The following information must be forwarded to the Buffalo State College Foundation:

The approximate market value of the gift.
A general description of the gift.
Any restrictions attached to the gift.
Any correspondence or documents from the estate attorney, if a bequest is involved.

Research Foundation Funded Property

When assets are constructed by assembling materials and parts that are purchased on several purchase orders, it is the department Director’s responsibility to notify Property Control of the existence of the asset. Copies of all purchase orders comprising parts used to assemble the asset must be furnished to Inventory Control so the asset can be added to the Property Control System.

College Foundation Property

College policy requires the College Foundation to screen all proposed property purchases with an estimated cost above $1,500.00. These procedures must ensure that the property is placed on the property control system. The College Foundation operations manager is responsible for ensuring this.

Audits

Property Control conducts audits annually to assess the accuracy of inventory record information for each department. The holdings of every campus department are spot-checked throughout the course of the year and audit reports are immediately provided to each chairperson or director citing the results of such audits. A physical audit of all property is taken every two years with the results reconciled with the inventory records. The chairperson or director is required to address discrepancies between inventory records and audit findings as reported by this office.

Buffalo State University periodically spot-checks selected property items under $1,500 to verify their existence and condition.

If any inventory items cannot ultimately be located, they should be routinely reported to University Police as stolen or unaccountable. Buffalo State University is required to report the theft, loss, or misuse of state assets in excess of $1000 to the Office of the State Comptroller on a quarterly basis. In addition to submitting the report to the OSC, Buffalo State University is also required to send a copy of the report to the University Comptroller’s Office.

The State University of New York Property Control System (PCS) was developed to provide uniformity in property accountability throughout the SUNY system, as determined by SUNY Central, State University Construction Fund, The Division of Budget and the Office of the State Comptroller.

The guide has been prepared to assist departmental personnel in understanding the Rules and Regulations of the State of New York regarding annual re-inventory, maintaining inventory records, and the disposal of State-owned property.

The PCS requires that all property items must be tagged for state owned property with original cost of $1,500 or greater with life expectancy of two or more years. Campuses are required to assign sequentially numbered inventory (asset) decals.

Property Control procedures for tagging assets

Pull closed purchase orders at Procurement once a week. In order to be pulled, the Purchase order must meet the minimum $1500.00 requirement for the Property Control System. Copies of all the purchase orders are made.
The purchase orders are taken to the locations shown on the POs, and the property is tagged with either a Property of BSC tag (if it has a serial number) or with a SUCB tag (if the property has no serial number).
Once the property has been tagged, a P109 form is filled out with the information gathered when tagging it on location. The property is then added to the Property Control System.
Weekly reports are generated from the Property Control System to make sure that all assets entered on the PCS are on and part of our inventory.
For high risk state-owned property below the $1,500 with the life expectancy of two or more years, the items will periodically be spot checked by audit and control. The campus is responsible for assigning a campus identification decal (Property of Buffalo State University tags) and for verifying their existence and condition.

Why is it necessary to maintain an Inventory?

To establish property control and accountability in compliance with the Rules and Regulations as established by the Office of the State Comptroller and the State University Research Foundation.
To establish a basis for projecting and budgeting property replacement associations.
To provide accountability for increased security against pilferage of vulnerable property.
To maximize property utilization and identification of assets which are excess or surplus.
To establish a basis for projecting future budgets to support new or renovated facilities.

General Definitions

Asset: Any piece of property or furniture with original cost of $1,500.00 or greater, and a life expectancy of two or more years, and which is not consumed in the course of use.

Owner: While it is recognized, with a few exceptions, that the title of all assets is held by the State of New York, for the purpose of inventory control and accountability, “owner” shall be defined as the department entity, which is the standard.

Exceptions:

Research Foundation assets are the property of the Research Foundation, but are still part of the Property Control System (PCS).
Buffalo State Foundation assets are all purchased through the BSC Foundation accounts and remains the property of the BSC Foundation, Inc., and are kept on the PCS.

Department Inventory Liaison’s Responsibility

To reconcile differences between inventory records & physical inventory of assets
To make clerical revisions to the inventory as needed and to report any changes to Property Control.

How do I complete my Re-Inventory?

To ensure that a department’s request for additions, deletions or other changes to the inventory were properly recorded; it is necessary to make comparison between the revised Inventory report and the original that was previously supplied. After making the comparison, additions or changes to the inventory are made using the following two approaches:
1. By Using the Inventory Update Form: Used to describe any asset (s) to be added to the department inventory that does not appear on the revised inventory or to make changes to assets already appearing on the departmental inventory report. OR
2. By Updating an Inventory Report: Note changes directly on the inventory report. Sign and date each page. After completing the re-inventory of all rooms under your stewardship, return the revised Inventory report to Property Control. It is advisable to keep a copy for your records.
Suggested Notations to the Inventory Report
1. Assets Properly Located:
  1. Place a check mark to the left of the asset number.
  2. If the department number is incorrect, write the correct department number or name to the left of the asset number.
  3. Review the description. If the asset description is incomplete or inaccurate, indicate the change. The status and condition data on each asset has a direct effect on asset replacement budgets.
  4. Review and adjust these fields to reflect current circumstances.
  5. Review and correct manufacturer name. It is possible that the vender’s name was recorded instead of the manufacturer name.
  6. Verify all model and serial numbers.
2. Assets appearing on the Printout but not in the room:
  1. If you are unable to determine the whereabouts of a particular asset, whether it was surplused, cannibalized, transferred to another department, or location, write “unaccountable” to the left of the asset number.
3. Assets that are in the room but not on the printout:
  1. List the assets at the bottom of the printout, with all available information (also include the purchase order number, if known). If a purchase order number cannot be provided, the asset will be added to the department’s inventory.

Maintenance of Inventory Records

Once the comparison is complete and all the necessary additions or change requests have been submitted, use the Inventory Update Form on a regular basis to update the departmental inventory. This form is used to make changes to assets already appearing on the departmental inventory report. Upon receipt of the Inventory Update Form, the requested changes will be entered into the Property Control System.

NOTE: Changes to the following areas listed on the Inventory Update Form require the signature of the Chairperson or Director:

Source of funding
Grant Numbers
Original Cost

Inventory Update Form

The State of New York, SUNY System Administration and the University administration have long recognized that there are many legitimate reasons for faculty and staff to remove property from Buffalo State University for work-related functions. All Buffalo State University property, whether recorded on the departmental inventory or not, that is removed from campus by faculty or staff for work-related functions must be identified on a Loan of College Property Form. Assets transported back and forth (such as laptop computers) on a continual basis must also be identified on a Loan of College Property Form.

The borrower is responsible for:

Completing the form and obtaining the signature of the immediate supervisor at the department chair level or above:
Keep the original copy and provides photocopies to University Police, the departmental Inventory Liaison, and Business Services.
Security of the property loaned. Loss of this property is the responsibility of the borrower to pay for the property.

The Departmental Inventory Liaison: Every department is responsible for assigning a department liaison (inventory manager). The liaison is responsible for verifying the location of all assets, including those recorded on a Loan of College Property Form every year during the normal re-inventory process.

Property Control is responsible for updating the location of all assets in the Property Control System based on the information provided by the Departmental Inventory Liaison.

Loan of College Property Form

All personal property that is brought to campus should be registered with Property Control using a Personal Property Registration Form. Retain a copy for departmental use.

Personal Property Registration Form

It is the responsibility of each department chairperson to stress the importance of building and room security to all members of the department (faculty, staff, and students). Guidelines addressing room and assets security should be established and practiced within each department.

Essential elements of asset/property security are:

Maintaining adequate key control of areas within each department.
Inventory record of keys.
Conducting periodic building surveys so that access to restricted areas is limited only to those who are authorized to use the area.
Controlling assets/property on loan by:
1. Utilizing Loan of College Property Authorization Form for all property on loan.
2. Maintain records of what is loaned, who the borrower is, the date of the loan, and the location of the property.
Purchasing special deterrents such as lockdown pads and alarm systems to secure valuable assets such as computers, small scientific devices, etc. Check with University Police at 716-878-6333 for safety programs to enhance room and asset security.

What should I do if something has been stolen?

If an asset/property is suspected of being stolen, contact University Police at 716-878-6333 immediately. They will send an investigator who will obtain all of the necessary data on the missing property and the circumstances surrounding its disappearance. The investigator will need to know the asset number, description, manufacturer, model, serial number and cost. If the asset is recorded on inventory, the data should be readily available. A copy of the investigator’s report will be sent to Property Control, which will then retire the asset from the departmental inventory.

There are select circumstances in which property owned by Buffalo State can be included (“traded-in”) as part of a procurement transaction to acquire a new or replacement piece of property. This form should be used to secure appropriate campus approvals for the disposition of the property to be traded-in. Under no circumstances should the transaction result in an exchange of funds between or among parties to the transaction.

For purposes of the form “property” is defined as vehicles, boats, furniture, or property where a trade-in option is available.

A separate form should be used for each vendor to whom goods will be traded-in.

Procedures for Property Trade-In:

To ensure that matters progress smoothly, it is advisable for the predominant user of the property to secure departmental approval for the process before completing the Property Trade-In Form.
The Property Trade-In Form should be completed in its entirety regarding the specifics and condition of the property being traded-in. All signatures should be secured up to and including that of the University Comptroller. After all signatures are secured, the form should be sent to Property Control, Moore Hall 124.
Property Control will provide the final signature and a copy of the form, complete with all signatures, to the Procurement Services Office. This will provide the necessary notification that the procurement process for the new or replacement piece of property can proceed.

Note: A purchase requisition must be initiated for the purchase of a new or replacement piece of property, including the notation that a trade-in will be involved. Please contact the Procurement Services Office at 716-878- 4113 for more information.
University property should not be turned over to any company/business without receiving the merchandise stated in the contract. Please contact Property Control, Moore Hall 124, 716-878-3169, prior to removal of the item being traded-in. A representative from that area will need to be present at the time of property removal to witness the transaction.

Property Trade-In Form