HOUSE FILE 654

BY  COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS

(SUCCESSOR TO HF 211)

A BILL FOR

An Act related to moneys administered by the board of trustees of a drainage or levee district.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

   Section 1.  Section 468.528, Code 2011, is amended to read as follows:
   468.528  Disbursement of funds.
   Drainage and levee taxes when so levied and collected shall be kept by the treasurer of the county in a separate fund to the credit of the district for which it is collected, shall be expended. The county treasurer shall disburse the moneys in the fund only upon the any of the following:
   1.  The orders of the board of trustees, signed by the president of the board, upon which warrants shall be drawn by the auditor upon the treasurer.
   2.  For drainage and levee districts with pumping stations, by orders of the board of trustees directing the treasurer to place all or any part of the moneys into a checking account established by the board in a bank or credit union as defined in section 12C.1.
   a.  The treasurer shall disburse the moneys only upon resolution duly adopted by the board. The board shall not expend moneys in the account for a purpose if the board could not order the county treasurer to expend moneys from the county’s separate fund for that same purpose.
   b.  The board shall file with the county auditor an annual financial statement that is accompanied by an unqualified opinion based upon an audit of the account performed by a certified public accountant licensed in this state. Notwithstanding paragraph “a”, the board shall pay the costs associated with performing the audit out of the district’s moneys.
   Sec. 2.  Section 468.531, Code 2011, is amended to read as follows:
   468.531  Compensation —— statements required.
   The compensation of the trustees and the clerk of the board is hereby fixed at forty an amount not to exceed two hundred dollars per day each and necessary expenses, to be paid out of the funds of the drainage or levee district for each day necessarily expended in the transaction of the business of the district, but no one shall draw compensation for services as trustee and as clerk at the same time. The board of trustees of a district may by resolution establish for themselves and for the clerk of the district a lower rate of pay than is fixed by this section. They shall file with the auditor or auditors, if more than one county, itemized, verified statements of their time devoted to the business of the district and of the expenses incurred.
EXPLANATION
   GENERAL. This bill provides for the management of a drainage or levee district by a three-member board of trustees elected by landowners who are assessed taxes to pay for district improvements (Code section 468.500).
   CONTROL OF ASSESSED TAXES. Moneys levied and collected in taxes are deposited in a special county drainage or levee fund controlled by the county treasurer who is authorized to invest such moneys and make disbursements to pay for district expenses (e.g., repairs and improvements) as authorized by the board (Code sections 468.54 and 468.528). The bill allows the board of a district having a pumping station (Code chapter 468, subch. II, pt. 5) to direct the county treasurer to deposit all or any part of such moneys into a checking account established in a financial institution for the board’s use to manage the district. The board must at its own expense employ a certified public accountant to perform an annual audit of the account. 
   INCREASE IN COMPENSATION. The bill increases the amount of compensation paid to a trustee or clerk of the board of trustees from $40 to an amount not to exceed $200 per day (Code section 468.531).