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Treasurer asks committee to fund two unclaimed‑property technicians as claims surge
Summary
The Treasurer requested two technician positions funded from the unclaimed property special fund, citing a multi‑decade rise in claims and growing fraud risk; the positions would cost about $200,000 annually and would not affect the general fund.
The State Treasurer (presenting to the Senate Appropriations Committee on Feb. 21) requested two technician positions for the unclaimed property division, to be fully funded from the unclaimed property fund rather than the general fund. The Treasurer said unclaimed property dollars and claim volumes have risen sharply over the last two decades — from roughly $10 million in total holdings decades ago to about $133 million now — and that the division’s caseload has grown from a few thousand claims to nearly 19,000 in the most recent year.
The Treasurer told the committee the unclaimed property office has used outreach campaigns, partnerships with the tax department and the Secretary of State, and a high‑profile advertising push to return property to Vermonters. Recent efforts produced a “money back” pilot that automatically returned roughly $1.3 million to about 5,000 Vermonters in a coordinated mailing with the Department of Taxes, and an advertising campaign that drove a roughly 50% increase in web searches for unclaimed property during the first half of FY25.
Despite the return programs, the Treasurer said the inventory and fraud risks have increased. Staffing in the unit has not grown in about 25 years while the volume of holdings and claims has expanded by an order of magnitude. The two requested technician positions would cost approximately $200,000 annually and be 100% funded from the unclaimed property fund; the Treasurer said the request would not materially reduce the general fund transfer because the office uses a conservative estimate when calculating the annual transfer to the general fund.
The Treasurer also proposed raising the no‑claim verification threshold from $250 to $1,000 so smaller claims can be issued more quickly without the full claims process. The Treasurer told the committee that holders (businesses and platforms that hold unclaimed property) generally must attempt to return property to owners and that statutory dormancy rules require holders to remit unclaimed property to the state after about three years of inactivity.
Committee members asked about fraud and identity verification; the Treasurer said fraudsters are increasingly using low‑cost tools and AI to attempt claims, which increases the workload for verification and requires more staff capacity. The Treasurer noted that the unclaimed property division finances its operations from the unclaimed property fund and that the two positions were requested in a memo accompanying the budget materials.
