Following decades of neglect, residents will finally be able to claim fees on deposit with County government

Search to see if you have an Unclaimed Deposit with the Clerk of Courts.

CLEVELAND – Cuyahoga County Executive Ed FitzGerald today announced new procedures for members of the general public to claim millions of dollars in unapplied funds that have remained on deposit in the County Clerk of Courts office.

“Today, we are taking another step forward to ensure that Cuyahoga County government is responsive and accountable to the constituents it serves,” said FitzGerald. “For the first time ever, it will be possible for members of the general public to determine whether they may be owed money by the County – in some cases going as far back as funds placed on deposit during the 1980s.”

Members of the general public can visit www.cuyahogacounty.us/UnappliedDeposits to search a PDF database of more than $7 million in criminal bonds, civil bonds, and fees that have not been returned after their initial deposit. Individuals who believe they are owed money on deposit can then complete an electronic form on the same page. Staff in the County Clerk of Courts office will respond within 4-6 weeks of a claim being submitted.

Over the past year, the County Clerk of Courts office has combed through decades of paper and electronic records to determine the final amount of unapplied funds on deposit. After deduplicating records and, in some cases, applying funds on deposit towards the payment of other costs already owed to the County by an individual, it was determined that a total of more than $7 million remains on deposit.

Any funds posted online will be transferred to the County Treasury after 31 days. If still unclaimed after a period of five years, these funds will be moved to the Cuyahoga County General Fund so they can be used to provide effective, quality services for residents.

“In less than a year on the job, our new County Clerk of Courts, Andrea Rocco, has done incredible work to reduce waste and inefficiency in her department,” added FitzGerald. “Every county government should be expected to act like this in the 21st century – by returning money it owes to the general public and ensuring that any funds remaining on deposit are put to use as effectively as possible.

Since taking office as Cuyahoga County Executive in 2011, FitzGerald has fought to enact commonsense government reforms and earned a reputation for promoting fiscal responsibility and transparency at the County level. In addition to this most recent initiative, FitzGerald has also proposed innovative methods for providing effective social services and helping more County residents afford higher education.