Alter treasures his years of service

State Treasurer Ed Alter could not be more excited as he shows off a new system for processing checks mailed to the state that gets the payments in the bank faster than ever.

"Watch this," he says as an assistant rips open an envelope, removes the checks inside and sends them through a new, desktop machine that reads all the necessary information into a computer program that handles the deposit.

While that probably isn't too thrilling to the typical Utahn, it certainly is to Alter, who will have spent 28 years managing the state's money when he steps down at the end of his seventh term in 2009.

At 66, Alter has already spent the bulk of his professional life as state treasurer, handling billions of dollars and overseeing the issuing of billions more in bonds. It's a job that doesn't attract much attention from the public but one that Alter obviously relishes.

Eyeing the pile of checks, he almost shouts, "I want that in the bank and I want credit for it tonight so I can invest it tonight." Getting that money in the bank quickly so it can be transferred into the state's short-term interest-bearing account means more money for taxpayers.

How much extra interest can the state be earning? "Millions," Alter said, smiling broadly at the state's latest efforts at what he calls "cash mobilization" that puts Utah ahead of many private businesses.

"People think government is lazy and inefficient, but in our shop, we're better than a lot of the private sector," Alter said.

When he was first elected in 1980, checks routinely piled up for several days before being sent to the treasurer's office. It could take days before, say, revenues from a speeding ticket paid in Wendover made it into the state's bank account.

"It was casual. It was not serious business," Alter said.

Even when money was deposited daily, there were problems. Back in the days when state liquor stores accepted only cash, hourly employees were responsible for carrying as much as $800,000 to a night-deposit box.

Alter said he helped the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control remedy the potentially dangerous situation by talking lawmakers into funding regular cash pick-ups at the liquor stores by an armored car service.

The state treasurer is also responsible for returning unclaimed property to Utahns. Millions of dollars annually in everything from old stocks to government refunds are returned to thousands of people — including Alter himself last year.