Are you owed money? Kootenai County has $275,000 in unclaimed funds that may be yours, and if your home went to a tax sale, you could be owed thousands by the county

COEUR d'ALENE — Kootenai County has money it wants to give to certain people.

It's just a matter of either tracking those people down or making them aware the funds are ready to be claimed.

Welcome to the Unclaimed Property list posted at http://bit.ly/1WD9Y6h by the auditor's office and the Surplus Funds from Tax-Deeded Properties list posted at http://bit.ly/1UJsKd5 by the treasurer's office.

"We have more than 2,000 people who we would love to get off of our (Unclaimed Property) list," said Julina Hildreth, an accountant in the auditor's office.

Unclaimed property is checks issued by the county that are outstanding. The funds become available in a variety of ways, including if people overpaid a speeding ticket or on their taxes, if they have money on them when they go to jail, DMV fee refunds or if you are a victim in a case and someone has to pay restitution. Most of the money becomes available through the district court process, Hildreth said.

She said the total amount of unclaimed property in Kootenai County currently stands around $275,000 with $115 being the average check. The county maintains the funds forever until they are claimed by those on the list or a family member if the person has died.

People or businesses claim the funds from either list by filling out forms that are available on the county offices' websites or in person at the offices.

In addition to posting the Unclaimed Property list online, it is posted in the Legals section in The Press every quarter, a letter is sent to those on the list once a year and it is posted on the state treasurer's website.

"Before they hit the list, we will have gotten a check back due to a bad address," Hildreth said. "We then log into the district court database to see if there's an updated address or telephone number. At that point, if we get a number, we'll contact them and ask them for a current address."

Hildreth said the ways to try to reach people are required by state law.

"If we had more time, I'm sure we'd do more digging," she said.

Hildreth said she plans to meet with Kootenai County Clerk Jim Brannon to see if the list can be shared on social media as well because, when that is done by residents, it goes a long way toward reaching folks.

Some government agencies and businesses in which the addresses haven't changed for many years are even on the list. The city of Post Falls' Parks and Recreation and Police departments were recently on the list until finance director Jason Faulkner claimed $210.96 for the parks department and $20 for police. Both of the funds were from restitution — money owed to the city for property damage.

Faulkner said he was surprised the city hadn't been contacted about the funds.

"We have a good working relationship with the county so I was surprised we didn't get a call that the restitution came back," Faulkner said.

Once Post Falls city administrator and former finance director Shelly Enderud spotted the city on the list, Faulkner said it was a painless 15-minute process to claim the funds and they arrived in the mail in about a week.

Hildreth said there are a myriad of reasons why funds don't reach agencies or businesses in such cases.

"There could have been a miscommunication or maybe it was sent to the wrong person who doesn't claim it," she said. "Sometimes it's because it involves a local office and the corporate office needs to handle it."

Hildreth said the biggest reason people don't claim the funds is that they don't know about them. Sometimes the amounts are so small that people don't want to waste their time claiming it, so the folks remain on the list as a result.

"People forget they are owed the money or write it off thinking they'll never receive it," she said.

Hildreth encourages people to share the list on social media and notify others they know who are on the list. She also encourages folks to keep their address updated through district court.

"If we don't have your address, you're not going to be able to get your money," she said, "and we don't want to hold onto it."

Hildreth said the list of about 2,000 is slightly less than previous years due to more awareness about the list. She said it's a good idea to check the list quarterly as that's how often it is updated.

With the Surplus Funds from Tax-Deeded Properties list posted by the treasurer's office, the funds are the difference between the highest bid at auction/foreclosure and the amount owed on the property.

If the person who is owed the excess funds can't be located, the treasurer holds the funds for three years. After three years, the funds, less applicable expenses, are transferred per state code to the county's indigent fund that supports people who are not insured and have had an emergency.

The county has no latitude on when or where the excess funds are to be distributed.

Once tax-deeded property has been sold, county commissioners are responsible for notifying all recorded owners and parties in interest within 30 days about the excess funds via certified mail.

Parties of interest are required to respond to the commissioners within 60 days of receiving the notice and claim the funds. After receiving the claim, the county must pay the people within 60 days.

Although it is not required by Idaho code, the treasurer's office also makes phone calls to people on the list in addition to the certified letter and posting the list online, Treasurer Steve Matheson said.

There are 13 former property owners on the current list.

A bill allowing the transfer and responsibility of handling excess proceeds from tax deed sales to the state treasurer sailed through both the Senate and House and is awaiting Gov. Butch Otter's signature to make it law.

Matheson said he supports the bill because the state office has the infrastructure and experience to assume the duties and it would provide greater uniformity throughout Idaho. It is supported by the Idaho Association of County Treasurers.