HF 2060 (LSB 5132YH (3) 91)

HOUSE FILE 2060

BY  COLLINS

A BILL FOR

An Act relating to the compensation of county officers.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  Section 331.907, subsection 1, Code 2026, is amended to read as follows:
   1.  The annual compensation of the auditor, treasurer, recorder, sheriff, county attorney, and supervisors shall be determined as provided in this section. The county compensation board annually shall review the compensation paid to comparable officers in other counties of this state, other states, private enterprise, and the federal government. In setting recommending the salary of the county sheriff, the county compensation board shall set the sheriff’s salary so that it is comparable to salaries paid to professional law enforcement administrators and command officers of the state patrol, the division of criminal investigation of the department of public safety, and city police chiefs employed by cities of similar population to the population of the county, applying the statistical mean of these positions.  When determining the average salary of police chiefs employed by cities of similar population to the population of the county, the compensation board shall use the statistical mean of the salaries of city police chiefs employed by cities with a population between one thousand less than and one thousand more than the population of the county. The county compensation board shall prepare a compensation schedule for the elected county officers for the succeeding fiscal year. The county compensation board shall provide documentation to the board of supervisors that demonstrates how the county compensation board determined the recommended compensation schedule, including by providing the applicable compensation information for comparable officers in other counties of this state, other states, private enterprise, and the federal government. A recommended compensation schedule requires a majority vote of the membership of the county compensation board.
    Sec. 2.  Section 331.907, Code 2026, is amended by adding the following new subsection:
   NEW SUBSECTION.  6.  The attorney general may bring an action against a county for a writ of mandamus to compel the county to comply with this section.
EXPLANATION
The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
   This bill relates to required considerations for determining the salary of county officers. The bill requires a county compensation board to use the statistical mean of certain law enforcement positions for comparison. The bill provides that in determining the average salary of police chiefs employed by cities of similar population to the population of the county, the county compensation board shall use the salaries of city police chiefs employed by cities with a population between one thousand less than and one thousand more than the population of the county. The bill provides that in the case of noncompliance with provisions for recommending and setting salaries of county officers, the attorney general may bring an action against a county for a writ of mandamus to compel the county to comply with such provisions.