Latest news with #landauction
CBS News
26-06-2025
- Business
- CBS News
"eBay for government" helps agencies and schools auction off property, Municibid founder says
A little slice of land in Ambridge Borough could be yours at a steep discount, and all the proceeds will benefit the local community. "We're like an eBay for government," said Greg Berry, CEO and founder of online government auction site Municibid. Berry says his company helps local governments auction off anything, from parcels of land and old desks to school buses and riding mowers. So far, about 7,000 local governments and schools use the online site to sell unneeded items to the public. The latest listing in Ambridge consists of a nearly 4,000-square-foot parcel of land along Glenwood Drive. Twenty-two bids have already been placed at just over $5,000. "A lot of times, smaller towns, and larger ones, have excess land or land that they've come into own in some form, and they don't have a need for it and they're looking to sell it," said Berry. He said maybe in this case, a neighbor wants to expand or a new park could pop up in the space. Berry says governments sell just about everything on his site. "While it's typically vehicles and heavy equipment and tools and land and things that you might expect the government to have and no longer need, it could be anything, such as sailboats and airplanes and jewelry and electric guitars," Berry said. Municibid allows consumers to sort and shop by state, borough or category. And when a winner scores a deal, here's how the costs break down. "When the auction closes and there's a winning bidder, the winning bidder pays us 9% of the winning bid amount, and then they pay 100% of the bid amount to the selling agency," Berry said. Gone are the days of going to the town hall to fill out a sealed bid. Berry told KDKA he used to work as a borough councilor and found that process far from transparent. "No one knew what the governments were selling, and if they did, the process was super inconvenient and intimidating and just wasn't very easy," said Berry. Besides the Ambridge property, KDKA found a lot of items up for grabs in the Pittsburgh area, including an ATV in Mt. Lebanon, a 2020 Ford Explorer in Castle Shannon, a Ford Crown Victoria police car in New Castle, and golf carts in Greensburg. Berry told KDKA some parents snag their teenagers' first car on the site, or business owners land some needed equipment at a fraction of the price.
CBS News
14-06-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Colorado Congressman Joe Neguse pushes back against plan to sell millions of acres of public land
Republicans in the U.S. Senate have introduced a proposal to sell millions of acres of federal land in eleven western states, including Colorado. The proposal is part of President Trump's "Big Beautiful Bill" and would require the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service to auction off 2.2 - 3.3 million acres of land. Colorado has more than 24 million acres of federal land, which is about 36% of the state's total area. The BLM manages 8.3 million acres, and the Forest Service manages 16 million acres. Under the proposal, the two federal agencies would publish a list of parcels for sale every sixty days. They would give priority to land identified by state or local governments that is near existing development and infrastructure. National parks, monuments and recreation or wilderness areas would be excluded, and the land could only be used to develop housing. Colorado Democratic Congressman Joe Neguse managed to kill a similar proposal in the House. The Senate version is far more expansive, and he says it should concern anyone who cares about public lands, "In my view, this is a five-alarm fire for hunters, for ranchers, for fishermen, for recreationists, for conservationists," said Neguse. Secretary of Interior Doug Burgum says the federal government owns about 640 million acres and the proposal would leave 99% of the land untouched. "This is not about our most sacred and beautiful places. This is often about barren land next to highways with existing billboards that have no recreational value," Burgum said. Burgum says the public will be allowed to weigh in on the sales, but the final decision on what land is privatized will be up to the federal agencies. Neguse says public lands belong to everyone and should be held in trust for future generations, "Some of my most meaningful memories as a kid growing up in Colorado, camping with my parents, hiking with my dad. And to think that we may not be able to make the same commitment and promise to our children, our children's children, if these same lands are ultimately auctioned off, I think it should deeply concern every Coloradan." Republican Congresswoman Lauren Boebert supports the proposal, saying, "It promotes coordination, respects state and local priorities, and reflects a more sustainable approach to land management. The outrage from the far left is not only unwarranted, it's out of touch with the real challenges facing rural America." Colorado's other Republican members of Congress, Gabe Evans, Jeff Hurd and Jeff Crank, haven't said where they stand on the Senate proposal. Hurd opposed the House version. All of Colorado's Democratic members of Congress oppose the plan, saying it will also hurt Colorado's $17 billion outdoor recreation industry. The land sales are expected to generate $5 - $10 billion over the next ten years, with most of the money going to reduce the deficit.
