Accounting Policies and Procedures
Capital Asset Policy
Effective Date: July 9, 2019
Board Approval: January 9, 2019
Board Amendments: September 2, 2026
1. Purpose
1.1 To provide policy and procedures that govern the acquisition and disposition of State-owned capital assets and Federal Surplus Property.
2. References
2.1 Utah Administrative Code Rule (UAC) R33-26. State Surplus Property.
2.2 Utah Code Annotated Section 63A-4-402, State surplus property program – participation by institutions of Higher education.
2.3 USHE Board Policy R561.
3. Definitions
3.1 Capital Asset – Land, buildings, building improvements, vehicles, machinery, equipment, and all other tangible or intangible assets that are used in operations and that have initial useful lives greater than one year and original cost or acquisition value greater than $10,000.
3.2 Real Property – Land, buildings and related improvements purchased with College funds, bequeathed or donated to the College or from DFCM.
3.3 Highly Pilferable Property – Property that is susceptible to theft, valued between $500-9,999.
3.4 Electronic Data Devices – Computers, tablets, smart phones, digital copiers, multifunction printers, portable data storage devices, and other similar items.
3.5 Retirement/Transfer Notice – An official College document that is used to record the transfer of property from one department to another and/or to retire property from a department’s inventory records. The notice is to be sent to the Fiscal Office for processing.
3.6 Property Custodian – Employee designated as the person responsible for Capital Asset
property within a department or program.
4. Policy
4.1 It is the policy of Tooele Technical College to properly account for Capital Assets from
acquisition to disposal, in accordance with financial standards and conditions imposed by
underlying sources. The Fiscal Office will maintain inventory records on all Capital Assets,
Highly Pilferable Assets, and Real Property.
4.2 Reporting Requirements of Property
4.2.1 It is the responsibility of each department or program that acquires, holds, or disposes of property to ensure that such property is:
4.2.1.1 Properly reported when acquired. (Through purchase, donation, or transfer)
4.2.1.2 Properly inventoried and safeguarded.
4.2.1.3 Properly reported at time of disposal.
4.2.2 It is the responsibility of the Fiscal Office to see that all Capital Asset property is appropriately tagged and its receipt noted on the asset accounting system.
4.2.3 Historical cost is the basis for valuing Capital Assets. Historical cost is the cash or cash-equivalent price of acquiring the property and preparing it for its intended use, including freight charges, installation costs, etc. For land and buildings, it includes purchase price, closing costs, fees, and other costs to ready the land and/or building for its intended use.
4.2.4 Capital Asset property donated to the College is recorded at its documented fair market value at the time of the donation (not the purchase price of a new similar
item).
4.2.5 The College must maintain records for all property purchased under training grants and contracts and comply with all regulations relating to such property. This
obligation to the awarding agency continues until the project is terminated or until the
useful life of the property expires, whichever is required by the awarding agency. The
grant administrator is responsible for inventorying and safeguarding the assets.
4.2.6 Status of title to Capital Asset property acquired under a grant or contract shall be determined at the time of acquisition. Generally, the title is either:
4.2.6.1 Vested in the College at the time of acquisition.
4.2.6.2 The College on a permanent basis, generally upon completion of the project.
5. Disposal of Property
5.1 It is the policy of the College to dispose of property in a manner that will maximize the return or benefit to the College, consistent with laws governing disposal of state property. Refer to UAC R33-26-200.
5.2 Disposition of College-owned surplus property items shall be through the following methods:
5.2.1 Online auction
5.2.2 Live auction
5.2.3 Disposal
5.2.4 Direct sale to the public
5.2.5 Donation to a public school or state-administered program, or
5.2.6 Another method approved by the fiscal office
5.3 Disposition of Electronic Data Devices. UAC R33-26-202.
The State has determined that the security risk of a potential data breach resulting from the improper disposal or sale of an electronic data device outweighs the potential revenue the State may receive from its sale. The College will ensure that all surplus State-owned
electronic data devices are disposed of in accordance with the following procedures;
5.3.1 Surplus electronic devices may not be sold or gifted via online auction or any other means.
5.3.2 The Director of Information Technology shall certify;
5.3.2.1 All connectivity to sensitive, confidential, protected, and classified data has been removed from the device, and the device no longer has access to the
College network
5.3.2.2 Must be disposed of through the vendor under contract with the State
5.4 Federal Surplus Property
5.4.1 Federal surplus property items are not available for sale to the general public.
Donation of federal surplus property shall be administered in accordance with the
procedures identified in the State Plan of Operation for the Federal Property
Assistance Program.
5.4.2 Public auctions of federal surplus property are authorized under certain circumstances and conditions. The fiscal office shall coordinate such auctions when deemed necessary or appropriate. Federal surplus property auctions are primarily conducted online but are regulated and conducted by the U.S. General Services Administration.
5.5 Public Sale of College-Owned Vehicles. UAC R33-24-401.
5.5.1 College-owned surplus vehicles may be purchased at any time by the general public.
5.5.2 Federal surplus property auctions to the general public may be accomplished on occasion and subject to the limitations as indicated previously.
6. Property Location, Maintenance, and Use
6.1 Departments shall maintain records identifying the current location of each item of Capital asset property to allow any item to be located within a reasonable time.
7. Security and Losses
7.1 The director of the responsible department and the property custodian are responsible for adequately providing for the physical security of property in their custody. Special precautions shall be taken to safeguard portable and highly pilferable property.
7.2 Loss, theft, or destruction of property must be timely reported to the Director/Manager of the department. Loss of Capital Asset property must also be reported to the Fiscal Services department by the responsible department before the items can be removed from the department’s inventory. The report must include applicable inventory numbers and, in the case of theft, the policy case number/report.
8. Verification of the inventory of Capital Asset property
8.1 At least annually, the Fiscal Services Office will conduct a physical inventory of all Capital Asset property. Departments will be responsible for verifying and completing the required inventory according to established procedures. Property that is missing or cannot be located will not be removed from the department list without verification of diligent effort by the department Director and approval by the Fiscal Office.
9. Estimated Useful Lives
9.1 Property, plant, and equipment is depreciated using the straight-line method over the
following estimated useful lives:
Assets Years
Building 25-40
Building Improvements 5-40
Equipment and Vehicles 3-15