West Virginia Treasurer Larry Pack presented Wheeling city leaders with nearly $20,000 in unclaimed property money Wednesday morning.

The check was part of a statewide program seeking to return more than $400 million in unclaimed money to its owners. The $19,997.21 given to Wheeling was collected over time from various uncashed checks and other unclaimed funds that were returned to the state over time. Now, the money will be poured back into Wheeling.

Mayor Denny Magruder joked that city leaders present at the check presentation, like city councilors Ben Seidler and Connie Cain and city manager Robert Herron, likely all had different ideas for what the funds could be used for. Further discussion will take place to determine how the city will use the money.

“There’s some issues with the Clay School that we could put it to, there’s several things and I think we just have to vet out and see where it’s needed most,” Magruder said.

Pack said he is looking forward to seeing what the city does with the money.

“Everybody’s budgets are tight so I’m sure they’ll put it to good use,” he said.

Though cities and companies may be larger recipients of unclaimed property, individuals can also get money back from the statewide program, Pack emphasized. Unclaimed property is common as checks can easily go missing or be forgotten about.

“Particularly as people move around and get different addresses sometimes the money doesn’t [come in] and they kind of forget about it,” Pack said.

Pack said he hopes the public check presentation will bring awareness to the program and encourage West Virginia citizens to visit the treasurer’s website and check if they have any unclaimed property they are entitled to. The state has already returned about $30 million this year.

“For some people it’s a little bit of money, for some people it’s a lot of money, so please do it. It can come to you from a lot of different directions so we’re just encouraging people to go to our website and see if they have any. We’d love to get this money back to the rightful owners,” Pack said.

Pack said even he and his own family got money back from the program that they did not know they had. Though today’s meeting was one of several public check presentations to municipalities, the state returns money to individuals every day, he said.

“Sometimes it’s a city, sometimes it’s a company, sometimes it’s just individuals,” Pack said. “My wife and I a few months ago went on the website and found out we had about $300. We didn’t think we had any money at all, even one of our children found I think $50.”

Magruder echoed Pack’s sentiment encouraging citizens to visit the treasurer’s website.

“I think the community will appreciate that our town is getting an extra nearly $20,000 from the state of West Virginia but I think this is also motivation for them to go to the website and take a look to see if anybody in their family perhaps is listed on the unpaid property fund,” Magruder said.

Magruder expressed his gratitude for the funds and Pack’s presence in town.