In November, Curt Meier replaced now-Governor Mark Gordon as the state treasurer. Meier said the Treasurer's Office has been busy filling new staff positions while staying within budget.
"I know if we are going to get a top-notch investment attorney, that starts at about the same price as a football coach at UW, and we don't have that in our budget," said Meier.
While in office, Meier wants to work on professional staff development, making sure the office's employees have a chance to learn and grow on the job.
Meier plans to continue his predecessor's work of updating the office's outdated accounting system. He said they still use a system of spreadsheets to do the state's accounting and those tend to lead to a lot of human error. Switching to a modernized single-entry accounting system has already been in the works for years. The modernized system would be more efficient and prevent mistakes.
Meier said the office is also working on creating a new website and outreach campaign for the Unclaimed Properties Division. That's a program that deals with assets that don't have a clear owner, or whose owner cannot be found.
"There's a good chance that quite a few folks out there have some money laying around that they don't even know about," said Meier.
In 2017, the division received $8 million in unclaimed property, $6.5 million of which was returned Wyoming citizens. The division still holds approximately $70 million of unclaimed property.