Dear Fellow Floridians:
I am excited to report that this year’s Unclaimed Property Auction was a huge success! The auction, held at the Sawgrass Marriott last weekend, produced the highest-ever sales percentage above reserve at 338.62 percent - raising $1.09 million for Florida’s public schools.
More important than the success of the auction, is the attention that the Unclaimed Property program receives during the annual event. My hope is that the publicity from the auction will bring more Floridians to our
Web site to search for their unclaimed property. We are holding more than $1 billion in unclaimed cash and property, and it is our goal to give back to Floridians what rightfully belongs to them.
I want to thank those who participated in the auction as well as our staff who put in countless
hours to make this year’s auction a success.
Jeff Atwater
Chief Financial Officer
State of Florida
Bond Refinancing Saves $187.8 Million Since January
The Division of Bond Finance, which CFO Atwater oversees as a member of the
Cabinet, has refinanced 11 bonds this calendar year-to-date. This represents
$1.54 billion in refundings of outstanding debt, which has resulted in gross
debt savings to the state taxpayers of $187.8 million.
Refinancing outstanding debt to lower interest rates saves the state hundreds
of millions of dollars, and is possible because of the state’s high credit
ratings. This is just another example of how fiscal discipline helps keep money
in the pockets of hardworking Floridians.
Financial Education for Families
Volunteer USA Foundation has expanded a financial education program which
targets 3rd-5th grade students and their families, strengthening the connection
between classroom and home learning. The Foundation is offering a program that
provides a skilled trainer to guide a family-friendly math and money workshop at
your school. The program provides free teaching materials to educators
including
downloadable
lesson plans, worksheets, classroom posters and more. The materials focus on
four core math skills: addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. It is
offered on first-come, first-served basis so make sure that your school signs up
early.
Visit www.volunteerusafoundation.org
for more information and to sign up.