KEYSER, MD – A checking account that has gone unnoticed by the Mineral County Sheriff’s Tax Office for the past several years has accumulated $35,419.76. It is Sheriff Gary White’s hope that part of the money can be used to purchase a badly needed vehicle for the county’s process server, according to the Cumberland Times-News. The fund had gone unnoticed by at least two sheriffs and through several changes in sheriff’s department personnel.

White sent a letter to the Mineral County commissioners on March 30, asking that they consider using the fund — composed of commissions collected through serving writs, summonses, and subpoenas — to provide a new vehicle for the server. According to West Virginia State Code, the funds can be used to help cover expenses incurred in serving the legal documents.

White had previously included a request for a new vehicle in his budget proposal, but the commissioners denied the request due to lack of sufficient funding.

Tuesday, process server Jeff Conley said the fund had gone unnoticed by at least two sheriffs and through several changes in sheriff’s department personnel.

County Coordinator Mike Bland noted that the state code mandates that the money realized through serving the papers be deposited in a separate account for use in covering the expenses of the process server, but any surplus amount should be reverted to the county’s general fund. Bland said he felt the purchase of a vehicle for the process server would be a legitimate expenditure, according to the Cumberland Times-News.