RPVCCA_CC_SR_2011_08_02_D_Unclaimed_DepositsCrrvOF
MEMORANDUM
RANCHO PALOS VERDES
TO:
FROM:
DATE:
SUBJECT:
REVIEWED:
Staff Coordinator:
HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNC@
DENNIS McLEAN,DIRECTOR OF FINANCE &INFORMATION
TECHNOLOGY
AUGUST 2,2011
UNCLAIMED DEPOSITS
CAROLYN LEHR,CITY MANAGER cD--
Kathryn Downs,Deputy Director of Finance &Information
Technology
RECOMMENDATION
Approve the transfer of $33,317.39 from the Trust Deposits Excess Funds account to the
General Fund.
DISCUSSION
The City requires cash deposits for certain services performed by Staff and its third-party
vendors.Examples include grading plan reviews,development inspections,and traffic
control plan reviews.Once a property owner or developer completes a project,the trust
deposit is closed and any remaining money is refunded to the depositor.Over the years,
some refund attempts have resulted in un-cashed checks that have been returned to the
City.After unsuccessful attempts to refund the balance of trust deposits,the money is
transferred to an Excess Funds account to await a future claim from the original depositor.
If the person who deposited the funds does not contact the City to recover the funds,then
the City may follow the processes set forth in the Government Code so that the funds
become the City's property and may be transferred to the General Fund by the City
Council.
Government Code Section 50050 allows unclaimed funds that have been held by a local
agency for a period of at least three years to be transferred to its General Fund,provided
that notice is first published in a newspaper of general circulation.Following the notice
period,if no claim is made,then the funds can be transferred to the General Fund.
The procedure that is established by the Government Code (Section 50050,et seq.)to
allow unclaimed funds that are held by a local governmental entity to be transferred to the
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UNCLAIMED DEPOSITS
August 2,2011
Page 2 of2
agency's general fund is exempt from the provisions of the Unclaimed Property Law
(California Code of Civil Procedure Section 1500 et seq.)whereby property or funds
escheat to the State.Specifically,CCP Section 1502(a)states:
U(a)This chapter does not apply to any of the following:
U(2)Any property in the official custody of a local agency if such property
may be transferred to the general fund of such agency under the provisions of Sections
50050-50053 of the Government Code."
The City's Excess Funds account was holding 62 deposits totaling $34,135.69.The names
of the original depositors are known,and the ages of the deposits range from 3 to 12
years.The City previously attempted to contact the depositors individually by mail,but
received no response.As discussed above,California Government Code Section 50050
provides procedures to notify the public about the existence of these funds,and if no
claims are made,the monies may be transferred to the General Fund.Legal
advertisements were published in the Palos Verdes Peninsula News on May 26th and June
2 nd with the list of 62 deposits totaling $34,135.69.Two claims totaling $818.50 were made
by the end of the noticing period (July 14,2011),and were paid based on sufficient
evidence of ownership.As no claims were made against the remaining $33,317.39,Staff
is recommending City Council transfer this amount to the General Fund.·
FISCAL IMPACT
If the City Council approves the recommended transfer of $33,317.39,the Estimated
General Fund Reserve at June 30,2012 will be $9,194,034 (see Attachment A).As the
Trust Deposits Fund does not have an annually adopted budget,there is no budget
adjustment required for this transfer.
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