Louisville Metro Government is putting surplus vehicles – and other property -- for sale on-line, seeking a better return for taxpayers. 
          
Oficials have begun auctioning off surplus property items on GovDeals.com, an on-line auction house based in Montgomery, Ala. that is similar to E-Bay. 
          
“This is another example of how we’re looking for creative ways to make our new merged government more efficient and effective for taxpayers,” Abramson said. “If we continue the initial success we’ve had with GovDeals.com, I would anticipate that more and more of our surplus equipment and supplies will be sold on-line, rather than the traditional auction house.” 
          
People can go to the Louisville Metro Government website – www.loukymetro.org -- to find items for sale. Abramson said the on-line auction allows more people – from virtually anywhere in the world – to have access to surplus property items in Louisville. The traditional auction house or sale of surplus vehicles reaches a familiar cluster of interested buyers each time, lessening the opportunity for a more spirited bidding process. 
          
For example, Abramson said a Mercedes Benz, which had been confiscated by Louisville Metro Police, sold on-line for more than $14,000 to a gentleman from Bristol, Tenn. The final sale price was about $3,000 more than its book value – the result, Abramson said, of an intense bidding process that drove the price up in the final moments before on-line auction closed. 
          
“We believe bringing more people into the process will help raise the price we receive for property and help us reduce warehouse space being used for surplus property more effectively and efficiently,” Abramson said.