State Treasurer Lynn Fitch told the Vicksburg Rotary Club that she’s giving $31 million dollars to the residents of Mississippi.

That money isn’t out of her pocket; she wants to give back money from things such as forgotten utility deposits, bank accounts and stocks and unclaimed inheritances.

“We’ve been in a recession, and people need their dollars, and it’s not state dollars,” Fitch said. “So my team has worked very hard to make sure we changed the rules, to be very customer friendly, and we’ve tried to make sure the forms are easy, so we can make sure you are the owner before you can claim those dollars.”

To make claiming that money easier Fitch published in Sunday newspapers across the state the annual list of the owners’ names and amounts owed to them.

State law requires that banks, credit unions, insurance companies, retail stores, utility companies and business associations turn over to the treasurer’s office any assets such as money, cash, checks or stocks that have been abandoned for five years.

Fitch says a call center will be set up starting Sunday from which her staff will go through a checklist to ensure that claimants of unclaimed money are the lawful owners.

Fitch says her office has returned $41.5 million to its rightful owners since she took office in 2012.

Before Fitch told the Rotarians about unclaimed money, she had the opportunity to visit Bowmar Avenue Elementary School to learn about the positive things happening with the Leader In Me program.

“The Leader In Me program is doing amazing work,” she said. “That program is based on the ‘7 Habits of Highly Effective People’, and that is a great program.”

“I have put all of my teams through the seven habits and it gives an opportunity to give a self reflection and also apply it to the work atmosphere and their personal lives,” she said.

“I was delighted to visit with the children at Bowmar,” Fitch said.

 

The Associated Press contributed to the report.