RivCo board transfer unclaimed property tax refunds into treasury

The Board of Supervisors voted unanimously today to deposit nearly $800,000 in property tax refunds owed Riverside County business owners and residents into the county treasury, after the prospective recipients did not come forward to claim the money.

According to Treasurer-Tax Collector Matthew Jennings, the refunds generally spanned tax years 2013 to 2018.   

In a 5-0 vote without comment, the board authorized a total of $792,861 that belonged to 793 individuals and businesses to be placed in the county General Fund.

Amounts per recipient ranged from a low of $10.77 for one entity to as much as $20,783 for another, according to documents posted to the board's agenda.

Officials said that in the previous year, advertisements were placed in newspapers putting the public on notice that the money was waiting to be claimed.

The billing support service Accurint was additionally retained by the Office of the Treasurer-Tax Collector to attempt to track down individuals and businesses whose addresses may have changed to send them notices regarding the unclaimed monies.

A total of 29 people responded by filing claims, but only 20 were identified as legitimate, according to officials.   

One eligible recipient, William Lyon Homes Inc., was listed 191 times in documents, with more than $8,000 available to be distributed to the company.   

There was no explanation for why more prospective recipients didn't respond to the county.

In previous years, the board postponed action on transfers to give prospects additional time to file a claim. In 2017, officials began circulating notices in April about the availability of the unclaimed funds.

Under state law, the county is only obligated to hold unclaimed money for four years before it becomes government property.   

According to Jennings, most of the refunds stem from changes in the property tax roll that occurred after a payment had been mailed, resulting in savings to the taxpayer.

When the Office of the Treasurer-Tax Collector sends a refund check and it's returned, it's placed in a holding account.   

Information on unclaimed funds and how rightful owners can file requests to receive them is available on the treasurer's website at https://countytreasurer.org/tax-collector/unclaimed-monies.