The news that state lawmakers were tapping unclaimed funds to pay for a new Browns stadium sent Ohioans scrambling to collect their money.
Residents aren’t the only ones with forgotten checks to claim. Multiple divisions of Cleveland city government also have money in the state’s pool of unclaimed funds, a Signal Cleveland search of the state’s database found. The search of the state unclaimed funds database returned about 250 entries for money that appeared to be owed to Cleveland City Hall.
City spokesperson Tyler Sinclair on Tuesday said that the city regularly searches for money it can claim and is working to obtain more.
“The City already has a process in place as the Finance Department routinely conducts sweeps to identify unclaimed funds that can be efficiently and effectively obtained,” he wrote in an email to Signal Cleveland. “That process works, as within just the past two weeks we submitted claims and supporting documentation in the amount of almost $138,000 to the State — and are working diligently to ensure those funds are returned to the City as quickly as possible.”
Ohio’s unclaimed funds account is a sort of limbo for abandoned paychecks, bank accounts and other payments that the intended recipients never claimed. State lawmakers are tapping that money to help pay for a new football stadium in Brook Park and other pro sports projects.
In the majority of the entries tied to the city, the intended recipient is listed as some version of “City of Cleveland.” Other recipients include the Cleveland Division of Water, Department of Building and Housing, Department of Public Health and the fire prevention bureau.
The entries often use City Hall’s main address, 601 Lakeside Avenue, or other addresses or postal boxes associated with city government. Other entries have no address listed. A handful of the payments appear to be for traffic tickets because they are addressed to the P.O. box number for the Parking Violations Bureau.
The payments, now held by the state, came from insurance companies, banks, title agencies, phone companies and other sources. The largest source of the money is the insurance giant Aflac, which has 40 unclaimed payments to the city. Next is Huntington National Bank with 19 payments.
It’s not possible to tally the exact amount that belongs to City Hall because the database gives only ranges, not specific amounts. There are 121 entries valued at more than $100, dozens between $25 and $100, and 44 listed at less than $25. At the low end of the ranges, that adds up to around $15,000.
Several entries list a person or company’s name as a secondary recipient, leaving unclear whether the money belongs to city coffers or someone else.
In addition to the approximately 250 entries linked to city government, another 120 unclaimed payments are listed as being owed to Cleveland Municipal Court.
Signal Cleveland associate editor Frank W. Lewis contributed reporting to this story.
This story has been updated with additional information from the city.
