House File 296
HOUSE FILE
BY D. HANSON
Passed House, Date Passed Senate, Date
Vote: Ayes Nays Vote: Ayes Nays
Approved
A BILL FOR
1 An Act relating to local conference boards, including setting the
2 quorum for conduct of business by a board, and setting limits
3 for certain salaries authorized by a board.
4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
5 TLSB 2332YH 80
6 sc/cf/24
PAG LIN
1 1 Section 1. Section 441.2, Code 2003, is amended to read as
1 2 follows:
1 3 441.2 CONFERENCE BOARD.
1 4 In each county and each city having an assessor there shall
1 5 be established a conference board. In counties the conference
1 6 board shall consist of the mayors of all incorporated cities
1 7 in the county whose property is assessed by the county
1 8 assessor, one representative from the board of directors of
1 9 each high school district of the county, who is a resident of
1 10 the county, said board of directors appointing said
1 11 representative for a one=year term and notifying the clerk of
1 12 the conference board as to their representative, and members
1 13 of the board of supervisors. In cities having an assessor the
1 14 conference board shall consist of the members of the city
1 15 council, school board, and county board of supervisors. In
1 16 the counties the chairperson of the board of supervisors shall
1 17 act as chairperson of the conference board, in cities having
1 18 an assessor the mayor of the city council shall act as
1 19 chairperson of the conference board. In any action taken by
1 20 the conference board, the mayors of all incorporated cities in
1 21 the county whose property is assessed by the county assessor
1 22 shall constitute one voting unit, the members of the city
1 23 board of education or one representative from the board of
1 24 directors of each high school district of the county shall
1 25 constitute one voting unit, the members of the city council
1 26 shall constitute one voting unit, and the county board of
1 27 supervisors shall constitute one voting unit, each unit having
1 28 a single vote and no action shall be valid except by the vote
1 29 of not less than two out of the three units. The majority
1 30 vote of the members present of each unit shall determine the
1 31 vote of the unit. A majority of the members of each voting
1 32 unit must be in attendance for purposes of constituting a
1 33 quorum to conduct business and take action under this chapter.
1 34 The assessor shall be clerk of the conference board.
1 35 Sec. 2. Section 441.16, Code 2003, is amended to read as
2 1 follows:
2 2 441.16 BUDGET.
2 3 1. All expenditures under this chapter shall be paid as
2 4 hereinafter provided in this section.
2 5 2. Not later than January 1 of each year the assessor, the
2 6 examining board, and the board of review, shall each prepare a
2 7 proposed budget of all expenses for the ensuing fiscal year.
2 8 The assessor shall include in the proposed budget the probable
2 9 expenses for defending assessment appeals. Said The budgets
2 10 shall be combined by the assessor and copies thereof of the
2 11 combined budgets forthwith filed by the assessor in triplicate
2 12 with the chairperson of the conference board.
2 13 Such The combined budgets shall contain an itemized list of
2 14 the proposed salaries of the assessor and each deputy, the
2 15 amount required for field personnel and other personnel, their
2 16 number and their compensation; the estimated amount needed for
2 17 expenses, printing, mileage and other expenses necessary to
2 18 operate the assessor's office, the estimated expenses of the
2 19 examining board and the salaries and expenses of the local
2 20 board of review.
2 21 3. Each fiscal year the chairperson of the conference
2 22 board shall, by written notice, call a meeting of the
2 23 conference board to consider the proposed budget and to comply
2 24 with section 24.9.
2 25 At such the meeting the conference board shall authorize:
2 26 1. a. The number of deputies, field personnel, and other
2 27 personnel of the assessor's office.
2 28 2. b. The salaries and compensation of members of the
2 29 board of review, the assessor, chief deputy, other deputies,
2 30 field personnel, and other personnel, and determine the time
2 31 and manner of payment. When authorizing the annual salary of
2 32 the assessor, the conference board shall take into account the
2 33 annual salaries of the county auditor, the county treasurer,
2 34 and the county recorder. The annual salary of the chief
2 35 deputy shall be an amount not to exceed eighty percent of the
3 1 annual salary of the assessor. In offices where more than one
3 2 deputy is required, each additional deputy shall be paid an
3 3 amount not to exceed seventy=five percent of the assessor's
3 4 salary. The conference board shall not authorize a deputy's
3 5 salary which exceeds the limitations of this paragraph.
3 6 3. c. The miscellaneous expenses of the assessor's office,
3 7 the board of review and the examining board, including office
3 8 equipment, records, supplies, and other required items.
3 9 4. d. The estimated expense of assessment appeals. All
3 10 such expense items shall be included in the budget adopted for
3 11 the ensuing year.
3 12 4. All tax levies and expenditures provided for herein in
3 13 this chapter shall be subject to the provisions of chapter 24
3 14 and the conference board is hereby declared to be the
3 15 certifying board.
3 16 5. Any tax for the maintenance of the office of assessor
3 17 and other assessment procedure shall be levied only upon the
3 18 property in the area assessed by said assessor and such tax
3 19 levy shall not exceed forty and one=half cents per thousand
3 20 dollars of assessed value in assessing areas where the
3 21 valuation upon which the tax is levied does not exceed ninety=
3 22 two million, six hundred thousand dollars; thirty=three and
3 23 three=fourths cents per thousand dollars of assessed value in
3 24 assessing areas where the valuation upon which the tax is
3 25 levied exceeds ninety=two million, six hundred thousand
3 26 dollars and does not exceed one hundred eleven million, one
3 27 hundred twenty thousand dollars; twenty=seven cents per
3 28 thousand dollars of assessed value in assessing areas where
3 29 the valuation upon which the tax is levied exceeds one hundred
3 30 eleven million, one hundred twenty thousand dollars. The
3 31 county treasurer shall credit the sums received from such levy
3 32 to a separate fund to be known as the "assessment expense
3 33 fund" and from which fund all expenses incurred under this
3 34 chapter shall be paid. In the case of a county where there is
3 35 more than one assessor the treasurer shall maintain separate
4 1 assessment expense funds for each assessor.
4 2 6. The county auditor shall keep a complete record of said
4 3 the separate assessment expense funds and shall issue warrants
4 4 thereon on a fund only on requisition of the assessor.
4 5 7. The assessor shall not issue requisitions so as to
4 6 increase the total expenditures budgeted for the operation of
4 7 the assessor's office. However, for purposes of promoting
4 8 operational efficiency, the assessor shall have authority to
4 9 transfer funds budgeted for specific items for the operation
4 10 of the assessor's office from one unexpended balance to
4 11 another; such transfer shall not be made so as to increase the
4 12 total amount budgeted for the operation of the office of
4 13 assessor, and no funds shall be used to increase the salary of
4 14 the assessor or the salaries of permanent deputy assessors.
4 15 The assessor shall issue requisitions for the examining board
4 16 and for the board of review on order of the chairperson of
4 17 each board and for costs and expenses incident to assessment
4 18 appeals, only on order of the city legal department, in the
4 19 case of cities and of the county attorney in the case of
4 20 counties.
4 21 8. Unexpended funds remaining in the assessment expense
4 22 fund at the end of a year shall be carried forward into the
4 23 next year.
4 24 EXPLANATION
4 25 This bill sets certain requirements for local conference
4 26 boards.
4 27 Current law provides that the local conference board for
4 28 counties shall consist of the mayors of all the cities in the
4 29 county, one director from the board of each high school
4 30 district in the county, and the members of the board of
4 31 supervisors. For cities, the conference board consists of all
4 32 the members of the city council, all the members of the school
4 33 board located in the city, and all the members of the board of
4 34 supervisors. For city and county conference boards, each of
4 35 these three groups constitutes one voting unit on the board.
5 1 The bill provides that a quorum of the conference board
5 2 necessary to conduct business and take action shall be
5 3 achieved when a majority of the members of each voting unit
5 4 are present.
5 5 The bill provides that when a conference board authorizes
5 6 the salary of a city or county assessor, the board is to
5 7 consider the salaries of the county auditor, treasurer, and
5 8 recorder. The bill also provides that the salary authorized
5 9 by the board for the chief deputy assessor shall not exceed 80
5 10 percent of the assessor's salary and the salaries authorized
5 11 for additional deputies shall not exceed 75 percent of the
5 12 assessor's salary.
5 13 The bill also amends Code section 441.16 to number
5 14 subsections and to remove archaic language.
5 15 LSB 2332YH 80
5 16 sc/cf/24