State treasurer presents Montreat with $5,000 check from unclaimed property fund

Free money is back in Buncombe County.

"It's not an April Fools joke," laughed State Treasurer Dale Folwell, who presented the town of Montreat with a check for $5,222.92 on April 1, stemming from the state's unclaimed property fund. 

"There's nearly $1 billion sitting in NCCash.com and we're very grateful to be returning some of that back to your town this morning," Folwell told Mayor Tim Helms. "With the price of gas, the price of electricity and everything going up, $5,000 doesn't hurt."

Helms said the money won't be going to any specific project but will be beneficial to the town overall.

"We really do appreciate this," Helms said. "It'll go a long way in Montreat."

Folwell said the money for Montreat came from the Department of Revenue. 

The Unclaimed Property Division, commonly called NCCash, holds roughly $941 million composing 18 million properties, according to the state treasurer. 

Folwell also delivered a check for $2,5093.04 to the United Way and a check for $5,230.19 to the city of Asheville. According to the treasurer's office, Buncombe County leads the nine counties in Western North Carolina with the highest amount of unclaimed cash at $30.5 million. 

More:$30.5 million in property funds have yet to be claimed by Buncombe residents

Folwell said the funds in NCCash comes from money sent to state residents which was then returned to the state treasurer's office. He said roughly 25 counties, 150 cities, 47 school systems and 63 rotary clubs all had money in NCCash.

"We've broken all records. We paid out $74 million this year, for the fiscal year," Folwell said.

Folwell said North Carolina residents throughout the state should check the state's website, www.nccash.com, and search for their name as they may have unclaimed money. 

Ezra Maille covers the town of Black Mountain, Montreat and the Swannanoa Valley. Reach him at 828-230-3324 or emaille@blackmountainnews.com. Please support local journalism with access to more breaking news by subscribing.