News
Apr 05 2008
Cash sits unclaimed with state
Multiple entries for "Smith" and "Torres" appear on the state of Kansas' lengthy roster of owners who need to be reunited with their unclaimed cash.
That's probably not surprising.
But counties, cities, community colleges, school districts and non-profit agencies also are on the list, and their unclaimed money is earning interest income for the state.
Last year turned out to be a record year for the state in returning unclaimed property. More than $12.8 million in money and stock was collected by their rightful owners, according to Jenalea Randall, press secretary for State Treasurer Lynn Jenkins.
However, the sheer volume of unclaimed properties - 976,605 properties valued at approximately $199 million - limits outreach capabilities, she said.
"I guess I was aware of this Web site kansascash.com),">(www.kansascash.com), but I wasn't aware that there were any county monies sitting out there," said Randall Allen, executive director of the Kansas Association of Counties.
"Totally unaware, " he said.
Who owns the money?
Money, stock or other financial instruments that have been dormant at institutions, or checks and refunds that could not be delivered to the right party, eventually must be turned over to the state.
Banks, insurance companies, energy and telephone utilities and companies paying oil royalties are among those submitting unclaimed assets to the State Treasurer.
Unclaimed assets are called "properties," but the only "real property" turned over to the State Treasurer's Office is safe-deposit boxes, sent primarily by banks, Randall said.
"We have just about 9,000 boxes on file," she said.
The safe-deposit boxes are inventoried and stored in a room called - appropriately - the vault.
The boxes are assigned a value of zero, Randall said, and cash amounts available to be claimed can be very little.
There are a couple of large unclaimed sums, she said, but she did not disclose the amount.
Kansas' reservoir of unclaimed holdings is not unique. The National Unclaimed Property Database's Web site, www.nupd.com, advertises that there's more than $35 billion in unclaimed money and properties, held by the federal and state governments and other entities.
Running the gamut
A sampling of the types of governmental and nonprofit agencies that showed up, as of last week, as owners of unclaimed properties in Kansas included:
-Girl Scouts
-Special Olympics of Kansas
-United Way of Dodge City
-Haven High School After Prom
-Hutchinson Ministerial Alliance
-Comanche County Memorial Hospital
-Greeley County Hospital
-Kansas Beef Council
-Kansas Association of Chiefs of Police
-Kansas Association of Public Employees
-Kansas Board of Tax Appeals
-Great Bend Rotary Club
-Kansas City Hospice
-Leoti U.S. Postmaster
-U.S. Department of Agriculture Farmers Home Administration in Liberal.
"I'll check it out," said Hutchinson Salvation Army Maj. Rick Carroll when informed that the Hutchinson Ministerial Alliance was on the list.
Trevor Wohlford, executive director of the Kansas Board of Tax Appeals, was unaware why that agency was on the list and planned to conduct a check, too.
For security reasons, the State Treasurer's online information available to the general public does not contain the amount of the unclaimed money.
"I do appreciate this," said United Way of Dodge City executive director Gayle Ausmus, upon learning that a check sent by the R.L. Polk & Company directory service to United Way was on the list.
"It's always very, very exciting to get any kind of donation," she said.
"Haven't known"
Max Williams, in Hugoton USD 210's business office, investigated how much money that district had in Topeka, when he learned last week that USD 210 was on the unclaimed money list.
"It was only for like $84," Williams said later.
Until he received more information, he said, he couldn't explain what occurred.
He speculated, though, that it entailed payroll deductions, an employee's cancellation and a refund that never reached the employee. He didn't know if it would involve a past or current employee, but he said the unclaimed money would end up with that individual, not in district coffers.
Moundridge USD 423's district clerk Dawna Schmidt reported the amount that earned Moundridge High School a spot on the list was about $25.
"I haven't known that we are on there," said Harvey County's John Waltner, in charge of special projects.
Waltner informed the county treasurer, who logged onto the Web site and requested forms that will reveal the amount of unclaimed money.
Harvey County operations, the Harvey County Clerk of the District Court, and Darlington Township in Harvey County accounted for a combined 11 entries on the state's list. The "senders" included insurance companies, banks, a telephone company and Ford Motor Credit Co.
Not much to collect
The Hutchinson Police Department had eight entries, and the city of Hutchinson, two, at the online unclaimed cash site.
"I do recall going in and checking on it to see if it was something worth pursuing," said Hutchinson finance director Carl Myers, about a review he conducted in a prior year.
He could not readily recall the amounts or details.
"It just didn't seem like it was going to be worth the time to get it back," Myers said.
There were 12 entries naming Reno County or carrying the address for county or district court offices on West First Avenue in Hutchinson.
County Treasurer Clark Miller said he had previously searched the site, but not recently. Various operations - including the County Clerk, Personnel Department, the Register of Deeds, Treasurer, the Clerk of the District Court and the Sheriff Department - had unclaimed property with the state as of last week, and Miller was spreading the word.
It struck Miller as odd, though, that the listings contained the correct address for the courthouse.
Press secretary Randall could not explain why some institutions have the proper name and address for the recipient, but the check ends up being undeliverable.
"For some reason, it gets kicked back to the businesses," she said.
Local governments and nonprofit agencies have to fill out forms and proceed through a verification process, just like individuals seeking unclaimed property, she said.
"Best-kept secret"
"Unclaimed property seems to be one of the best-kept secrets," Randall said, but the office tries various methods to heighten awareness.
The State Treasurer's unclaimed property booth is set up yearly at the Kansas State Fair, equipped with staff and computers for on-site name checking.
At the State Fair in 2007, more than "3,171 claim forms were generated for a total amount of $1.2 million claimed," the State Treasurer's 2007 Annual Report to the Kansas Legislature noted.
Randall said the State Treasurer's Office placed ads about unclaimed cash in the League of Kansas Municipalities' annual directory.
But, observed Allen with the Kansas Association of Counties, that's not a publication for counties.
The State Treasurer and staff also have conducted telethons with television stations WIBW, Topeka, and KWCH, Wichita, Randall said.
At those telethons, she said, Jenkins was interviewed during the evening newscasts, and staff was prepared to check names as viewers called in. The phone number crawled across the TV screen during regular programming, generating calls through the night and keeping staff busy.
Streamlined computerization has helped to speed the process, too, Randall said.
In the office, State Treasurer's annual report explained:
"One staff member is dedicated full time to outreach with the rest of the staff searching as time allowed. As new property is reported, a staff member starts searching each name on the Internet. They attempt to make contact with the owner or their heirs and send claims to that person(s). While this may seem like a tedious process, it actually produces a higher percentage of valid claims than some of the more visible outreach efforts."
A few months ago, Randall said, the staff member devoted to the search effort focused on military personnel.
Kansas has several military bases, and personnel "move around so much," Randall said, that a soldier who held a job in the private sector or opened up a Kansas bank account and then was sent overseas may have payments that flow into the unclaimed category.
Allen planned to help alert counties to their holdings.
"We can help by just making the counties aware through our publications and e-mail," Allen said.
Spending the money
"It's free to search, and it's free to claim your money," Randall said.
If the refund was for $79.87, that's the amount the recipient will collect.
Interest earned on unclaimed property goes into the state's general fund and is used for development projects, she said, including renovation of the State Capitol.
"So it's not like it's being sat on. It's being used for good," she said.
On July 1, 2007, legislation that Jenkins advocated took effect, allowing her office to pay interest on property that was reported as an interest-bearing account - such as savings accounts and certificates of deposit - to the owner who claims the property.
How to find yours
* Start at kansascash.com
* Click on "Search for Unclaimed Property" in the right-hand column.
* Click on "I DO agree."
* Type in a last name. It isn't necessary to type in a first name, unless the last name is very common, such as Jones. The site also advises to check maiden names.
* The State Treasurer office number is (785) 296-3171.
* E-mail addresses for staff are available on the homepage that appears at kansascash.com, under "Contacts" on the left-hand side.
That's probably not surprising.
But counties, cities, community colleges, school districts and non-profit agencies also are on the list, and their unclaimed money is earning interest income for the state.
Last year turned out to be a record year for the state in returning unclaimed property. More than $12.8 million in money and stock was collected by their rightful owners, according to Jenalea Randall, press secretary for State Treasurer Lynn Jenkins.
However, the sheer volume of unclaimed properties - 976,605 properties valued at approximately $199 million - limits outreach capabilities, she said.
"I guess I was aware of this Web site kansascash.com),">(www.kansascash.com), but I wasn't aware that there were any county monies sitting out there," said Randall Allen, executive director of the Kansas Association of Counties.
"Totally unaware, " he said.
Who owns the money?
Money, stock or other financial instruments that have been dormant at institutions, or checks and refunds that could not be delivered to the right party, eventually must be turned over to the state.
Banks, insurance companies, energy and telephone utilities and companies paying oil royalties are among those submitting unclaimed assets to the State Treasurer.
Unclaimed assets are called "properties," but the only "real property" turned over to the State Treasurer's Office is safe-deposit boxes, sent primarily by banks, Randall said.
"We have just about 9,000 boxes on file," she said.
The safe-deposit boxes are inventoried and stored in a room called - appropriately - the vault.
The boxes are assigned a value of zero, Randall said, and cash amounts available to be claimed can be very little.
There are a couple of large unclaimed sums, she said, but she did not disclose the amount.
Kansas' reservoir of unclaimed holdings is not unique. The National Unclaimed Property Database's Web site, www.nupd.com, advertises that there's more than $35 billion in unclaimed money and properties, held by the federal and state governments and other entities.
Running the gamut
A sampling of the types of governmental and nonprofit agencies that showed up, as of last week, as owners of unclaimed properties in Kansas included:
-Girl Scouts
-Special Olympics of Kansas
-United Way of Dodge City
-Haven High School After Prom
-Hutchinson Ministerial Alliance
-Comanche County Memorial Hospital
-Greeley County Hospital
-Kansas Beef Council
-Kansas Association of Chiefs of Police
-Kansas Association of Public Employees
-Kansas Board of Tax Appeals
-Great Bend Rotary Club
-Kansas City Hospice
-Leoti U.S. Postmaster
-U.S. Department of Agriculture Farmers Home Administration in Liberal.
"I'll check it out," said Hutchinson Salvation Army Maj. Rick Carroll when informed that the Hutchinson Ministerial Alliance was on the list.
Trevor Wohlford, executive director of the Kansas Board of Tax Appeals, was unaware why that agency was on the list and planned to conduct a check, too.
For security reasons, the State Treasurer's online information available to the general public does not contain the amount of the unclaimed money.
"I do appreciate this," said United Way of Dodge City executive director Gayle Ausmus, upon learning that a check sent by the R.L. Polk & Company directory service to United Way was on the list.
"It's always very, very exciting to get any kind of donation," she said.
"Haven't known"
Max Williams, in Hugoton USD 210's business office, investigated how much money that district had in Topeka, when he learned last week that USD 210 was on the unclaimed money list.
"It was only for like $84," Williams said later.
Until he received more information, he said, he couldn't explain what occurred.
He speculated, though, that it entailed payroll deductions, an employee's cancellation and a refund that never reached the employee. He didn't know if it would involve a past or current employee, but he said the unclaimed money would end up with that individual, not in district coffers.
Moundridge USD 423's district clerk Dawna Schmidt reported the amount that earned Moundridge High School a spot on the list was about $25.
"I haven't known that we are on there," said Harvey County's John Waltner, in charge of special projects.
Waltner informed the county treasurer, who logged onto the Web site and requested forms that will reveal the amount of unclaimed money.
Harvey County operations, the Harvey County Clerk of the District Court, and Darlington Township in Harvey County accounted for a combined 11 entries on the state's list. The "senders" included insurance companies, banks, a telephone company and Ford Motor Credit Co.
Not much to collect
The Hutchinson Police Department had eight entries, and the city of Hutchinson, two, at the online unclaimed cash site.
"I do recall going in and checking on it to see if it was something worth pursuing," said Hutchinson finance director Carl Myers, about a review he conducted in a prior year.
He could not readily recall the amounts or details.
"It just didn't seem like it was going to be worth the time to get it back," Myers said.
There were 12 entries naming Reno County or carrying the address for county or district court offices on West First Avenue in Hutchinson.
County Treasurer Clark Miller said he had previously searched the site, but not recently. Various operations - including the County Clerk, Personnel Department, the Register of Deeds, Treasurer, the Clerk of the District Court and the Sheriff Department - had unclaimed property with the state as of last week, and Miller was spreading the word.
It struck Miller as odd, though, that the listings contained the correct address for the courthouse.
Press secretary Randall could not explain why some institutions have the proper name and address for the recipient, but the check ends up being undeliverable.
"For some reason, it gets kicked back to the businesses," she said.
Local governments and nonprofit agencies have to fill out forms and proceed through a verification process, just like individuals seeking unclaimed property, she said.
"Best-kept secret"
"Unclaimed property seems to be one of the best-kept secrets," Randall said, but the office tries various methods to heighten awareness.
The State Treasurer's unclaimed property booth is set up yearly at the Kansas State Fair, equipped with staff and computers for on-site name checking.
At the State Fair in 2007, more than "3,171 claim forms were generated for a total amount of $1.2 million claimed," the State Treasurer's 2007 Annual Report to the Kansas Legislature noted.
Randall said the State Treasurer's Office placed ads about unclaimed cash in the League of Kansas Municipalities' annual directory.
But, observed Allen with the Kansas Association of Counties, that's not a publication for counties.
The State Treasurer and staff also have conducted telethons with television stations WIBW, Topeka, and KWCH, Wichita, Randall said.
At those telethons, she said, Jenkins was interviewed during the evening newscasts, and staff was prepared to check names as viewers called in. The phone number crawled across the TV screen during regular programming, generating calls through the night and keeping staff busy.
Streamlined computerization has helped to speed the process, too, Randall said.
In the office, State Treasurer's annual report explained:
"One staff member is dedicated full time to outreach with the rest of the staff searching as time allowed. As new property is reported, a staff member starts searching each name on the Internet. They attempt to make contact with the owner or their heirs and send claims to that person(s). While this may seem like a tedious process, it actually produces a higher percentage of valid claims than some of the more visible outreach efforts."
A few months ago, Randall said, the staff member devoted to the search effort focused on military personnel.
Kansas has several military bases, and personnel "move around so much," Randall said, that a soldier who held a job in the private sector or opened up a Kansas bank account and then was sent overseas may have payments that flow into the unclaimed category.
Allen planned to help alert counties to their holdings.
"We can help by just making the counties aware through our publications and e-mail," Allen said.
Spending the money
"It's free to search, and it's free to claim your money," Randall said.
If the refund was for $79.87, that's the amount the recipient will collect.
Interest earned on unclaimed property goes into the state's general fund and is used for development projects, she said, including renovation of the State Capitol.
"So it's not like it's being sat on. It's being used for good," she said.
On July 1, 2007, legislation that Jenkins advocated took effect, allowing her office to pay interest on property that was reported as an interest-bearing account - such as savings accounts and certificates of deposit - to the owner who claims the property.
How to find yours
* Start at kansascash.com
* Click on "Search for Unclaimed Property" in the right-hand column.
* Click on "I DO agree."
* Type in a last name. It isn't necessary to type in a first name, unless the last name is very common, such as Jones. The site also advises to check maiden names.
* The State Treasurer office number is (785) 296-3171.
* E-mail addresses for staff are available on the homepage that appears at kansascash.com, under "Contacts" on the left-hand side.
