Texas Comptroller Susan Combs announced today that the city of Texarkana has reclaimed $6,441 in unclaimed property. Bowie County also appears on the state’s Unclaimed Property List, with $13,066 waiting to be claimed.

“Cities, counties and school districts face challenges in this tough economy,” Combs said. “Our office has expanded its efforts to quickly contact local government entities that have money on the state’s unclaimed property list and help them reclaim it, and I applaud the taxing entities in this community for taking the initiative to get this money back and put it to work for the taxpayers.”

Combs also urged all Texarkana-area residents to see if they have money waiting to be claimed. The state is holding more than $12.9 million dollars in unclaimed property for Bowie County residents, including $2.1 million that belongs to people in Texarkana. The Comptroller’s office has returned more than $343,000 to Bowie County owners in the last two years.

The North Texas Regional Unclaimed Property List will be published Sunday, Feb. 7. The list will contain the names of 43,900 unclaimed property owners from 50 North Texas counties who have had at least $250 in forgotten funds reported to the state within the last year.

The Comptroller’s office has re-invented the annual unclaimed property newspaper insert, historically published statewide in October, breaking it into six regional unclaimed property lists. The successful initiative has, so far, produced 20 percent more claims than last year’s statewide list, and Combs has returned $21.2 million to its owners so far — nearly $3.5 million more than during the peak period following the publication of last year’s list.

“By focusing on one region at a time, we can provide better customer service and reunite people with their money faster, because claims are spread out over several months, rather than a single peak period,” Combs said.

It is not necessary to wait until the Unclaimed Property List appears in the newspaper to find out if the state is holding forgotten cash or other valuables in your name.  The unclaimed property Web site at www.ClaimItTexas.org is available year-round and contains the complete list of all owners of any amount of unclaimed property, from any year.  You may also inquire about unclaimed property by phone at (800) 654-FIND (3463).

The Comptroller estimates 36 out of 100 Texarkana residents have unclaimed property, including utility deposits and other refunds; insurance proceeds; mineral interest or royalty payments; dormant bank accounts; and abandoned safe deposit box contents.