State treasurer speaks at Sertoma meeting

Nevada State Treasurer Kate Marshall was guest speaker at the Carson Valley Sertoma's breakfast meeting July 27. To make her point about the importance of the state's unclaimed property checklist, she handed out surprise notices to several Sertomans, informing them how much money the state owes them.

Marshall used her speech to highlight not balances and budgets, but the new techniques her office is using to save the state money.

For example, records show that several companies contracting regularly with Nevada, also have other states for customers. Marshall's office now insists on "most favored state" status, meaning the treasury should pay such suppliers no more for similar products then the best price given to any other state.

The state collects millions in cash and checks every day for fees and licenses - all requiring transport by armored cars and delays of hours or more before Nevada's own bank account gets credited. There's a pilot project now to transfer as much as possible electronically, saving both the cost on cars and the interest lost with all those unaccredited hours.

Much is the same for credit cards. Fees on card charges at the Department of Motor Vehicles and elsewhere are paid by the state, adding up to $5 million a year. That makes Nevada a big customer of the card firms and big customers deserve a discount, Marshal said. She said she's preparing to negotiate for it now.

Other plans and savings programs under the treasurer's "Marshall Plan" were explained to the Sertomans but nothing impressed them as much as the way Marshall used the club's membership roster to make sure some of them knew their own names were on another important list - Nevada's unclaimed property checklist.

The Carson Valley Sertoma meets 6:30 a.m. every Friday at Sharkey's Rib Room, Gardnerville. Most meetings host a guest speaker. For more information, 267-7723.