Town’s Annual Tag Sale Set To Begin Nov. 12

By Kaaren Valenta

Like a typical household, the Town of Newtown accumulates items that it no longer needs –– things that are taking up space, but are too good to throw away. So each year, the town’s Public Works Department conducts a tag sale –– actually a sealed bid auction –– to dispose of them.

This year’s sale includes everything from file cabinets, desks, and typewriters from the Board of Education, to a tractor and trailer from the Parks and Recreation Department. Everything is sold “as is” with the high bidder winning.

The annual tag sale is scheduled to open at 8 am on Wednesday, November 12, at the highway garage at 4 Turkey Hill Road and end at 3 pm on Friday, November 14. Award notifications will be made on Monday, November 17.

All bids must be placed in a drop box located in the public works office. All items must be removed from the site by 2 pm Friday, November 21.

Items were still being delivered to the public works garage this week so a complete list was not available. But one pile in the garage offered such choices as a microwave oven, metal shelves, and two office chairs.

“We’ve been doing this for years because it makes the town auditors very happy,” Public Works Director Fred Hurley said. “We can’t just give the stuff away.”

Money raised by the sale goes into the town’s general fund. How much is raised depends on what is available to sell. Sometimes it includes property from evictions, when the owner never claims it.

This year, no property from evictions is included although Mr Hurley said he is holding a large quantity waiting for the owner to show up, and property from several other evictions also is expected be trucked to the highway garage soon.

“It is done by the Sheriff’s department,” Mr Hurley said. “We are obligated by law to store the items for at least 30 days. But sometimes people never show up for it, and in those cases we eventually put it up for sale too.”