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HomeMy WebLinkAbout31-20RESOLUTION 31-20 RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE TOWN OF LOS ALTOS HILLS APPROVES THE UNCLAIMED AND UNCASHED CHECK POLICY AND PROCEDURES WHEREAS, contacting payees of unclaimed and uncashed checks is essential in promoting good internal control standards; and WHEREAS, the policy for the Town of Los Altos Hills follows California state law (Government Code sections 50050 through 50056) as set forth in Attachment A; and NOW THEREFORE, resolved by the City Council of the Town of Los Altos Hills that the Council hereby adopts the Town's Unclaimed and Uncashed Check Policy and Procedures as presented. The above and foregoing Resolution was passed and adopted by the City Council of the Town of Los Altos Hills at a regular meeting held on the 16th day of July 2020 by the following vote: AYES: Wu, Tankha, Corrigan, Spreen, Tyson NOES: None ABSTAIN: None ABSENT: None ATTEST: �G eborah Padovan, City Clerk BY: -- Michelle u, Mayor Resolution 31-20 Page 1 Town of Los Altos Hills – Administrative Services Department Unclaimed and Uncashed Check Policy & Procedures 26379 Fremont Road Los Altos Hills, CA 94022 I.PURPOSE The purpose of the unclaimed and uncashed check policy is to establish the process for disposition by the accounting department of unclaimed and uncashed checks. As a matter of policy, the Town attempts to contact payees of unclaimed and uncashed checks in order to promote good internal control standards. II.DEFINITIONS A.Outstanding Check: Any check that has not cleared the bank, been canceled, or written off. Outstanding checks include both uncashed and unclaimed checks. B.Uncashed Check: A check mailed or delivered to the payee that has not been cashed. C.Unclaimed Check: A check held by Town for issuance or delivery to the payee, including checks mailed to a payee that were returned to the Town. D.Unclaimed Funds: Money or funds disbursed that remain in the City Treasury or in the official custody of City officers for three (3) years or more without a claim being filed by the legal owner(s). Common sources include accounts payable, payroll, vendor payments, customer refunds. III. POLICY It is the policy of the Town of Los Altos Hills to properly account for unclaimed funds in a manner which follows Government Code Sections 50050 through 50056. Unclaimed funds, excluding restitution to victims, that remain unclaimed for at least three (3) years will become the property of the Town of Los Altos Hills after the procedures identified herein have been followed. The Town is required to comply with the requirements of the unclaimed property laws and regulations. Those duties vested by Government Code Sections 50050 through 50056 in the Town Treasurer are hereby transferred to the Town Finance Director or other designee as stated in this policy. This policy outlines the procedures to be followed regarding outstanding checks. Resolution 31-20 Page 2 IV.PROCEDURE 1)To minimize the number of unclaimed checks, the payee will be notified in writing when a check remains unclaimed or uncashed for at least three (3) months for payroll and six (6) months for vendor checks. A certified letter will be sent once a year for up to three (3)years. A sample letter is attached in Exhibit I to facilitate the notification process. 2)Unclaimed money of $15 or more a)All payroll and vendor check payments of $15 or more that are outstanding and unclaimed by the payee for at least three consecutive years must be publicly advertised. (Government Code Secs. 50050 and 50051). This procedure provides formal notice to vendors or individuals of the existence of uncashed checks and allows them the opportunity to claim the funds. b) From the list provided by the Administrative Department, the City Clerk’s Office shall prepare and place a Notice of Unclaimed Property in the Los Altos Town Crier or other newspaper of general circulation published in the Town. The Notice shall state that the unclaimed funds will become the property of the Town of Los Altos Hills on a designated date not less than forty-five (45) days nor more than sixty (60) days after the first publication of the notice. The Notice will include the payee, amount and the disbursing fund. See Exhibit II (Gov. Code Sec. 50051) c)The City Clerk’s Office shall obtain a proof of publication from the newspaper to be retained as verification that the notice was placed in the publication and ran once per week for two consecutive weeks. d) At the end of the public notification period (45-60 days), any remaining unclaimed funds with face amounts of $15 or more will revert to the Town and shall return to the originating fund by resolution of the City Council. 3)Unclaimed funds less than $15 or unknown depositors a)Outstanding checks of less than $15, or any amount if the depositor’s name is unknown, will become the property of the Town of Los Altos Hills after being unclaimed for at least 12 months and shall return to the originating fund. This may occur without the necessity of a newspaper publication notice. (Gov. Code Sec. 50055). The funds will be transferred to the originating fund by resolution of the City Council (See Exhibit III). Resolution 31-20 Page 3 4) Filing a Claim a) Potential claimants will contact the Administrative Services Department to obtain instructions for placing a claim. All claims will be facilitated using the claim form. See Exhibit IV. b) Upon or prior to publication, a party of interest may file a claim with the Town Administrative Services Department, which must include the following information: (Gov. Code Sec. 50052) i) The claimant’s name, address and telephone number. ii) Social Security Number or Federal Employer Identification Number. iii) Proof of identity such as a copy of a driver’s license, social security card or birth certificate. iv) The amount of the claim. v) The grounds on which the claim is founded. c) The Administrative Services department may release to the depositor of the unclaimed funds, their heir, beneficiary, or duly appointed representative, unclaimed money if claimed prior to the date the money becomes the property of the Town upon submitting proof satisfactory to the Finance Division. (Gov. Code Sec. 50052.5) d) The accounting staff will verify the validity of the claim and, if appropriate, submit for payment through the normal accounts payable process. If claimant is deceased, the next of kin can file a claim. e) If an outstanding check is claimed prior to the date designated in the Public Notice or other date the money becomes property of the Town, the Town’s Finance Director will verify the claimant’s supporting information. If the Finance Director finds that the claimant satisfies all conditions required under this procedure, the Finance Director shall prepare a report for the City Manager. Upon the City Manager’s review and approval of the report, the Town will issue a new check for the claimed amount to the claimant. 5) Funds Transfer a) At the end of the public notification period (45-60 days) or if no notice is required then on date the money becomes the property of the Town, any remaining unclaimed funds shall be returned to the originating fund. Resolution 31-20 Page 4 6)When the unclaimed funds become the property of the Town of Los Altos Hills and are in a Special Fund, the City Council may transfer them by resolution to the General Fund or to the originating fund. (Gov. Code Secs. 50053 and 50055). 7)Accounting Transactions a)The following accounts are used for old outstanding checks: xxx-0000-4810 Miscellaneous Revenue Account xxx-0000-2008 Stale Checks Payable b) At the end of the public notification period (45-60 days) or other date the money becomes property of the Town, the remaining unclaimed funds will revert to the Town. The amounts of such funds will be transferred to a miscellaneous revenue account upon City Council approval. i)Accounts Payable check will be voided, a journal entry will be prepared to reclass the account number from original to miscellaneous revenue account, Stale Checks account (2008). This will Debit Cash and Credit the above revenue account without changing the original Expense or Revenue account. ii)Payroll checks will be voided through the payroll void process. In addition, a journal entry will be prepared to Debit the original expense account and Credit the Miscellaneous Revenue, Stale Checks account. iii)The records of voided checks must be retained in Finance in accordance with the Town’s records retention policy. 8) Policy Review a) This policy shall be reviewed twice a year to verify any changes to state law. Attachments: Exhibit I-Sample Letter Exhibit II-Sample Public Notice Exhibit III-Sample Resolution Exhibit IV-Sample Claimant Form Resolution 31-20 Page 5 Date «Payee_Name» «Street_Address» «City» Dear «Payee_Name», Our records indicate that the following check issued to you or your organization has not been cashed. Check number: «Check_Number» Amount: $«Amount» Date issued: «Issue_Date» Under California Government Code Section 50050 et seq., unclaimed funds will become the property of the Town three (3) years after the check was issued, or after twelve (12) months for checks less than $15. It is likely that the check was lost or never received. Please check your bank records to verify that the check has never been cashed by you. If your record indicates that you have deposited the check, please mark X on number 1 below. If your record shows that you have never received the check, please mark X on number 2 and we will issue a replacement check to you. This letter should be returned to my attention at the address below. Please reply to this correspondence below and return to us, either via e-mail or mail. ____1. Yes, I have received and cashed the above-mentioned check. ____2. No, I have never received and cashed the above-mentioned check. Please issue a replacement check. Signed by: _________________________________________ Date ________________ Sincerely, Accounts Payable Town of Los Altos Hills 26379 Fremont Road Los Altos Hills, CA 94022 Resolution 31-20 Page 6 Exhibit I - Sample Letter EXHIBIT II-Sample Public Notice TOWN OF LOS ALTOS HILLS PUBLIC NOTICE OF UNCLAIMED PROPERTY NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN THAT, the Administrative Services Department of the Town of Los Altos Hills, County of Santa Clara, State of California, declares that the following monetary sums have been held by the Town of Los Altos Hills and remained unclaimed in the funds hereafter indicated for a period of over three (3) years and will become the property of the Town of Los Altos Hills on the _____ day of ______ , year a date not less than forty-five (45) days, nor more than sixty (60) days after the first publication of the Notice. Any party of interest may, prior to the date designated herein above, file a claim with the Town’s Administrative Services Department. The Unclaimed Money Claim Form can be obtained from Town Hall at 26379 Fremont Road, Los Altos Hills, CA 94022 or from the Town’s website at www.losaltosca.gov/unclaimedpropertyforms. Proof of identity such as a copy of a driver’s licenses, social security card or birth certificate must be provided before funds will be released. Any questions, please contact the Town of Los Altos Hills, Administrative Services Department at (650)941-7222. This notice and its contents are in accordance with California Government Code Sections 50050- 50056. NAME AMOUNT FUND Company XX $1000.00 General Fund Doe, Jane $ 50.00 Sewer Fund Sarina Revillar Administrative Services Director Resolution 31-20 Page 7 Exhibit III-Sample Resolution RESOLUTION NO. ____ A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE TOWN OF LOS ALTOS HILLS RELEASING UNCLAIMED CHECKS WHEREAS, it is the policy of the Town of Los Altos Hills to take possession of long standing unclaimed checks in accordance with Government Code Sections 50050 through 50056; and WHEREAS, each of the checks listed on the attached summary is less than $15, or for any amount in which the depositor’s name is unknown, and have been unclaimed for more than one year; and WHEREAS, the attached summary may also include checks in amounts greater than $15 that have been unclaimed for more than three years and notice thereof was published in the Los Altos Town Crier on [date] and [date] as required by Government Code Section 50050. NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the City Council of the Town of Los Altos Hills hereby orders that the unclaimed checks on the attached list in the total amount of $ xxx.xx shall be transferred to the General Fund in accordance with Sections 50053 and 50055 of the California Government Code. I HEREBY CERTIFY that the foregoing is a true and correct copy of a Resolution passed and adopted by the City Council of the Town of Los Altos Hills at a meeting thereof on the ___ day of ____, xxxx by the following vote: AYES: NOES: ABSENT: ABSTAIN: ___________________________ Michelle Wu, MAYOR Attest: _____________________________ Deborah Padovan, CITY CLERK Resolution 31-20 Page 8 EXHIBIT IV-Sample Claimant Form TOWN OF LOS ALTOS HILLS UNCLAIMED PROPERTY-CLAIM FORM Return completed form to: Town of Los Altos Hills Administrative Services Department Accounts Payable 26379 Fremont Road Los Altos Hills, CA 94022 Pursuant to California Government Code Section 50052, I wish to file a claim for a previously unclaimed check in the amount of $_____________that was published in the Town Crier on _______________ (if applicable). The grounds on which I file this claim are as follows: ______________________________________________________________________________ __________________________ ___________________________________ Vendor or Individual Name (printed) Taxpayer I.D. or Social Security Number _____________________________ ___________________________________ Vendor or Individual Name (signature) Telephone Number ______________________________________________________________________________ Address City/State/Zip Code NOTE: ALL CLAIMS MUST BE RECEIVED BY THE TOWN BEFORE THE DATE SPECIFIED IN THE NOTICE OR WITHIN 12 MONTHS IF THE AMOUNT IS LESS THAN 15 DOLLARS OR THE DEPOSITORS NAME IS UNKNOWN. POSTMARKS WILL BE ACCEPTED. FOR FINANCE DEPARTMENT USE ONLY Date Claim Received: ________________ Name of Payee: _________________ Original Check Amount: _______________ Original Check #:________________ Original Check Date: __________________ Replacement Check #:________________ Replacement Check Date: ______________ Replacement Check Amount: __________ Account Code: _______________________ Verified by: _________________________ Date Approved: ______________________ Resolution 31-20 Page 9