Legislators Ltrs re: PSG StudyCity Manager's Office
City Hall
50 West 13th Street
Dubuque, Iowa 52001-4864
(563) 589-4110 office
(563) 5894149 fax
ctymgr@cityofdubuque.org
April 18, 2003
VIA E-mail and
1st Class Mail
<<Email>>
<< CompleteLOCALName_Add tess>>
Re: PSG Study
Dear <<Title>> <<Last>>:
I am writing about the PSG Study and recommended cuts to local government. As
spoke with Legislators over the last week about this bill, I was given an interesting
challenge. Offer an alternative to the cuts to local government to balance the budget.
As of last week, I thought the cuts to local government budgets were $56 million. Now
am told this cut could be greater than $56 million. Last week I thought these cuts would
result in the lay-off of 19 City employees. A greater cut would affect more positions.
This comes at a particularly bad time for the City of Dubuque. The Dubuque City
Council balanced and certified a FY 2004 budget by March 15, as required by law. To
avoid a property tax increase, the adopted budget included a hiring freeze, rate
increases for all the City's utilities, a new storm-water utility fee, elimination of all
Professional Conference travel and a reduction in all training budgets, and increases in
Building, Zoning, and Ambulance fees.
These actions were necessary to address a 35% increase in health costs ($1,200,000),
a 20% increase in Police and Fire Retirement rates ($312,000), Property, Boiler, and
General Liability Insurance increases of 15%. reduced State funding of $62,800, and
reduced Utility Replacement Taxes of $156,000.
As if all of this was not bad enough, we recently were informed that our health care
costs for this upcoming fiscal year are not rising $1.2 million, but $1.8 million. This will
mean an additional $600,000 shortfall in the operating budget that was not anticipated.
How will we deal with that problem? 1 don't know yet, but it could mean 12 more
position will be at dsk. That would total over 30 positions if the State continues with the
PSG proposal. As you can see, the City's operating budget is being devastated.
Service People hategnty Responsibility Innovation Teamwork
<<Title>> <<Last>>
April 18, 2003
Page 2
All of this is particularly frustrating because Dubuque was just turning the corner from
the economic devastation that plagued our State and the City of Dubuque in the 1980%.
in the 1980's, Dubuque averaged 8.9% unemployment. In 1982, the Dubuque
unemployment rate was 14.2%. It takes years of planning and investment to recover
from those economic conditions, but it may take only one year to set Dubuque back 15
years.
The Dubuque City Council has been fiscally responsible over the years, making
reductions in employment of 65 positions since 1981, an 11% reduction in workforce.
The City of Dubuque has avoided a property tax increase for the average homeowner
for the last nine years, with five of those years seeing a property tax decrease. The
average homeowner in Dubuque has seen a tax decrease of 7% over the last nine
years on the City portion of their property taxes. This takes some of the pressure off of
the schools and the County as they consider their budgets.
The City of Dubuque has been fiscally responsible in all areas. If you combine the City
portion of property taxes, the sewer fee, the water fee, the refuse fee and the
stormwater fee, the average homeowner in Dubuque pays only 34¢ more in Fiscal Year
2004 than they paid in Fiscal Year 1995 for their City services.
As I spoke with people about a way for the State to balance the budget without
drastically reducing services to citizens at the local level, I reflected back on what I had
learned about how the State came out of the economic crisis of the 1980%. One major
way that the State budget cdsis was ended in the 1980's was an additional 1% State
sales tax. The City of Dubuque also used this method when the citizens voted for a 1%
local option sales tax.
This year the State needs to make up between $88 million and $128 million and wants
to identify $75 million a year to pay for the $1 billion Iowa Values Fund. How does the
State come up with $163 million to $203 million? I offer the following suggestions:
Internet Sales Tax $100 million
One Dollar Cigarette Tax Increase $183 million
Combined Reporting by Corporations $ 25 million
__________
$208 million
The State would then have $308 million to fill this $163 - $203 million funding need.
In addition, the State could delay increasing the cash reserve from 5% to 10% and
erase $40 million of this need. This increase in the cash reserve could be made in
better financial times.
<<Title>> <<Last>>
April 18, 2003
Page 3
I was also asked to identify mandates that could be relieved that would help cities
financially. While I appreciate efforts to reduce or eliminate unfunded State mandes, it
is important to recognize that mandate reduction will not make up for the loss in
revenues. The Iowa League of Cities has developed a mandate relief list, which I have
attached. It disturbs me that we are put in the position of suggesting eliminating a
retiree's dght to stay on City health insurance, and I am not even sure at this point in
time that I support this suggestion and others.
The State does not need to support the PSG report. There are other options.
I strongly urge you to oppose the recommendations of the Public Strategies Group.
Sincerely,
Michael C. Van Milligen
City Manager
MCVM:jh
Enclosure
CC: Mayor Terry Duggan
Dubuque City Council
Susan Judkins, Director of Governmental Affairs, Iowa League of Cities
Steward Sandstrom, President & CEO, Dubuque Area Chamber of Commerce
Rick Dickinson, Executive Director, Greater Dubuque Development Corporation
Dave Baker, President, Teamster's Union Local #-421
Steven Didato, President, Amalgamated Transit Union, Local #329
Dan Sommers, President, International Union of Operating Engineers, Local #758
Tom Ready, President, Dubuque Professional Firefighters Association, Local #353
Thomas Pregler, President, Dubuque Police Protective Association
City of Dubuque Department Managers
Barry Lindahl, Corporation Counsel
The Honorable Mike Connolly
Iowa State Senator
3458 Daniels
Dubuque, IA 52001
The Honorable Roger Stewart
Iowa State Senator
3936 317 Avenue
Preston, IA 52069
The Honorable Pat Murphy
Iowa State Representative
155 N. Grandview Avenue
Dubuque, IA 52001
The Honorable Steven Lukan
Iowa State Representative
7365 Columbus Street
New Vienna IA 52065
The Honorable Thomas Vilsack
Governor, State of Iowa
Office of the Governor
State Capitol
Des Moines, IA 50319
The Honorable Stewart Iverson, Jr.
Senate Majority Leader
Senate Chamber
Iowa Capitol Building
Des Moines, IA 50319
The Honorable Jeff Lamberti
Appropriations Committee Chair
Senate Chamber
Iowa Capitol Building
Des Moines, IA 50319
The Honorable Julie Hosch
Iowa State Senator
22852 Butterfield Road
Cascade, IA 52033
The Honorable Pam Jochum
Iowa State Representative
2368 Jackson
Dubuque, IA 52001
The Honorable Robert Osterhaus
Iowa State Representative
216 Austin
Maquoketa, PA 52060
The Honorable Gene Manternach
Iowa State Representative
9608 Maple Road
Cascade, IA 52033
The Honorable Mary Kramer
President of the Senate
Senate Chamber
Iowa Capitol Building
Des Moines, IA 50319
The Honorable Michael Gronstal
Senate Minority Leader
Senate Chamber
Iowa Capitol Building
Des Moines, IA 50319
The Honorable Christopher Rants
Speaker of the House
House Chamber
Iowa Capitol Building
Des Moines, IA 50319
The Honorable Chuck Gipp
House Majority Leader
House Chamber
Iowa Capitol Building
Des Moines, IA 50319
The Honorable Bill Dix
Appropriations Committee Chair
House Chamber
Iowa Capitol Building
Des Moines, IA 50319
The Honorable Richard Myers
House Minodty Leader
House Chamber
Iowa Capitol Building
Des Moines, IA 50319
317 Sixth Avenue, Suite 800 Iowa
Des Moines,50309 League of
(515) 244-7282 Cities
(515) 244-0740 (fax)
State Mandates on Cities
Presented to legislators earlier in the 2003 session for the "Re-Invention" legislation
1. Chapter 411 Municipal Police and Fire Personnel Retirement System of Iowa
(MPFRSI) Contributions and Presumptions
a. Cities are required by taw to pay a minimum of 17% of police and fire
personnel salaries to fired MFPRSI, even if an actuarially appropriate
contribution would be less. In recent years, the cities contribution would
have been approximately 14%, if actuarially determined. As a result, cites
have overfimded the MFPRSI system in recent years. Due to recent
investment performance, cities are currently required to contribute 20.48
percent of police and fire Personnel salaries to the MPFRSI. City
contributions continue to increase while employee contributions, which are
capped by law, can never increase, and state contributions, which are
dependent upon general fund appropriations, have decreased. Also, chapter
411 is written in a way that makes it impossible for cities to challenge a
member's disability status even when there is legitimate evidence that the
disability was not work-related. If a police officer or fire department
member has a disability related to a heart or lung condition, it is
automatically presumed to be work related and covered under the MPFRSI.
b. Decrease or cap the city MPFRSI contribution rate. The city
contribution rate should be decreased or capped. The disability presumption
should be rebuttable, so that cities may have evidence considered that the
disabihty is caused by other factors, such as in cases where the employee is
known to have been a smoker. Without the rebuttal, the city and therefore
the taxpayer must cover the cost of the disability regardless if the disability
was work-related or not.
Continuation of Group Health Insurance (Code of Iowa Chapter 509A.13)
a. Cities are required to allow employees who retired before reaching 65 to
continue in the group health insurance plan until the employee reaches 65.
b. Remove the mandate requiring cities to continue to provide group
health insurance to early retirees. While the premium plus a two percent
administrative fee is paid by the employee, the rest of the administrative
cost is paid by the city. Since it is the decision of the employee to retire, the
city should not be mandated te continue this benefit.
3. Newspaper Publication (Code of Iowa 362.3; 372.13(6); 380.7(3))
a. Cities with a population over 200 or have a weekly newspaper published in
the city are required to publish council minutes and ordinances. In cases not
reqnirhig publication, the publication requirement is satisfied by posting in
three public places designated by ordinance.
For more information susanjudkins@iowaleague.org
www.iowaleague.org konnicawiezell@iowaleague.org
IOWA
LEAGUE
OF CITIES
State Mandates on Cities (continued)
Page 2 of 10
b. The current rate for publication is for one insertion is 35.7 cents per line.
c. Allow cities to meet publication requirements by posting on city
websites and retaining hardcopy at city hall. This solution would also
reduce paper use and allow citizens to view public notices at anytime from
their homes.
d. Posting items in many smaller communities is usually more effective.
Citizens in these towns visit these public places more than read a public
notice in the newspaper. Also, if an official newspaper is published outside
of the city, a resident may not even subscribe to that particular paper.
e. Smaller cities are fomed to pay a greater portion of their general fund
revenue for publication costs. The population threshold for city audits is
700. The threshold for publication should be raised to 700.
Street Reports
a. Beginning in September 2003, cities are required to report on street, bridge
and culvert improvement projects whose cost are within 90 percent of their
bid threshold. Cities are required to file a report even if there were no
projects completed
b. This reporting requirement wastes tkne and paper for cities under 5000,
since they have very few or no street projects that come close to the
threshold. For larger cities that have several street improvemem projects
each year, this is a huge time and cost burden.
e. Eliminate the Street Project Reporting requirements imposed by
HF324. An even larger question is the use of the information that is
gathered in these reports. Will the information be used by the state? If not,
why waste time and paper doing the reports if the information from them
will not be used. If the information is to benefit some private group, the
group should collect the information on their own instead of making
taxpayers in these cities pay for the reporting costs.
Rollback/Assessment Limitation
a. The value of residential property is limited to a four percent growth in
valuation and is also coupled to agricultural land growth in value. This
limitation and coupling has resulted in residential property being taxed for
FY 2004 at 51.3874 percent of its value with a significantly lower
percentage predicted.
b. Eliminate the property tax rollback and coupling between residential
and agricultural property values. The rollback limits cities' ability to
collect revenue to pay for vital services while shifting a greater taxing
burden on commercial and industrial properties. Higher commercial and
industrial property taxes have a negative impact on economic growth in
cities.
For more information susanjudlcins~iowaleague.org
www.iowaleague.org kormicawiezell~iowaleague.org
State Mandates on Cities (continued) Page 3 of 10
IOWA
LEAGUE OF CITIES
$8.10 General Fund Limit
a. Cities are limited by the levy rate of $8.10 per thousand of assessed
valuation to pay for many services that are not covered under another fund.
Several services are those that directly impact the safety and security of the
taxpayer, such as police and fire protection. The costs of these services must
compete with other costs for items such as park maintenance, street
maintenance not covered by the RUTF, and city administrative services.
Too many police and fire departments are beginning to rely on old and
outdated equipment. According to Iowa Department of Management FY
2003 data, 709 of 949 cities in Iowa are at the $8.10 General Fund limit and
259 of the 709 cities have levied all or part of the $0.27 per thousand
emergency levy rate (209 have levied the entire $0.27 rate) to cover what
the $8.10 levy will not cover.
b. Eliminate or raise the $8.10 General Fund limit.
7. Property Tax Exemptions
a. A number of property tax exemptions greatly impact cities. These
exemptions include a Military Service Tax Exemption- exempts $2,788 ora
property's value for a WWI veteran and $1,852 for veterans of other
specified active duty periods. There are also exemptions mandated for
county, state, and Iowa National Guard property. Beginning in 1994,
computers and industrial machinery equipment were phased out of taxation.
In 2001, Indian Housing Authority property was exempted from property
taxes.
b. Remove property tax exemptions or provide PILOT payments to cities
for state property. These exemptions greatly impact those cities that have
these types of properties. Cities that also serve as county seats have a larger
share of property exempted from taxation. These cities are more likely the
location of Iowa National Guard armories resulting in greater loss of
property taxes. Cities with heavy industrial growth are greatly impacted by
the phasing out of taxation on computers and industrial machinery. These
exemptions should be eliminated or fully refunded by the state. Another
possible solution may be to have the state provide Payment In Lieu of Taxes
(PILOT) for services received from cities.
8. Property Tax Credits
a. Three major property tax credits impact cities; the Homestead Credit which
exempts the taxes collected on the first $4,850 of actual value, the Elderly
and Disabled Property Tax Credit and Rent Reimbursement and the
Manufactured or Mobile Home Tax Credit which allows a property tax
reduction based on income below $16,500.
b. Reduce, eliminate or fully fund property tax credits since these credits
along with the rollback shift the property tax burden on to commercial
property hindering economic development.
For more information
www.iowaleague.org
susanjudkins~iowaleague.org
konnicawiezell~iowaleague.org
IOWA LEAGUE OF CITIES
State Mandates on Cities (continued)
Page 4 of 10
Mobile Home Taxation
a. Mobile or manufactured housing located within a mobile home park or
manufactured housing community are taxed on a square footage rate. If an
owner does not qualify for an additional credit, the home is taxed at 20
cents per square foot. If the home is located outside a park or community,
the home is taxed as real property. The end result is a loss of several
hundred dollars in revenue per home located within the park or community.
b. Tax mobile and manufactured homes located within a mobile home
park or manufactured home community as real property. These owners
benefit from the same services as home owners outside the park, yet pay
much less for these services.
10. Right-of-Way Rental Charge
a. In 1998, SF 2368 removed cities right to grant telephone franchises and
only allows a city to collect those costs attributed to managing the public
right-of-way.
b. Allow cities to collect franchise fees and rental fees from all utilities for
use of the public right-of-way. This revenue allows for an equitable
disbursement of the rental fees among the utilities and reimburses the city
for cost associated with liability issues related to the public right-of-way.
11. Ceiling on Township Fire Levies
a.Townships are limited to levying $.405 per thousand for fire protection, and
$.54 for fire and EMS services. An additional $.2025 can be included, if
original levy does not meet expenses. City residents subsidize township fire
protection to the extent that the cost of providing the service exceeds the
township levy rates.
Raise limits on township levy rates for fire protection. Townships
depend heavily on cities to provide adequate fire protection. Raising these
limits will allow a city to provide fire protection to these townships without
infringing on the fire service to city residents.
12. TIF Reports
a. Cities are required te file a tax increment finance report each December 1
on any urban renewal districts in their city, even if the city is not utilizing
tax-increment financing. The reports are costly and time consuming to
complete.
b. Eliminate the TIF reporting requirement. Reports such as these should
be eliminated unless it is proven that the collection of this data is accessible
and being used to determine public policy.
For more information susanjudkins~iowaleague.org
www.iowaleague.org kon_uicawiezell~iowaleague.org
State Mandates on Cities (continued) Page 5 of 10
IOWA LEAGUE OF CITIES
13. Municipal Infractions
a. A municipal infraction is a civil offense punishable by a civil penalty of not
more than five hundred dollars for each violation or if the infraction is a
repeat offense, a civil penalty not to exceed seven hundred fifty dollars for
each repeat offense.
b. Raise limits on municipal infractions. Municipal infractions are used by
cities to enforce ordinances such as compliance with sidewalk maintenance
and animal control. The money taken in from these fines assist a city in
paying for costs involved in the enforcement. These limits should either be
raised or eliminated to allow cities to effectively enforce these types of
ordinances and not force cities to choose between enforcement and non-
enforcement because the costs are too high.
14. Benefits for Volunteer Fire Fighters
a. According to the Code of Iowa Chapter 85.36 (9a), when a volunteer frre
fighter is injured the worker compensation is computed as 140 percent of
the average state-wide weekly salary, or the employee's own salary,
whichever is greater. The current rate muning through June 30, 2003 is
$771.81 per week (a week is based on a full 7 days per statute).
b. Lower the worker's compensation rate to 100 percent of the average
state-wide weekly salary. An insurance canSer for a city will take into
account the amount of compensation needed for the volunteer fire fighters in
that city. Because the compensation level is set at such a high level,
insurance carriers will base their premiums at a higher than normal rate for
cities with volunteer ftrefighters. Volunteer firefighters should be
compensated when injured on the job, but the compensation should be
computed to be no more than 100 percent of the average state-wide weekly
salary.
15. State DNR Requirements No Greater That Federal EPA
a. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued certain
requirements forcing cities to comply with certain environmental laws. The
Iowa Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) acting as the state monitor
for compliance with these laws has either included stricter compliance
regulations or filing fees.
b. Prohibit the IDNR from imposing any greater compliance regulation
that the federal government requires from cities. In addition to this, the
provision should also prohibit the state from charging cities for
compliance with the federal laws.
For more information susanju dkin s~iowaleague.org
www.iowaleague.org konn/cawiezell~iowaleague.org
IOWA
LEAGUE
State Mandates on Cities (continued)
Page 6 of 10
16. Water Fees
a. Code of Iowa 455B. 183A established various fees that public water supply
systems are required to pay. Certain fees are related to construction,
installation, or modification of a public water supply system. This section
also includes the requirement that a public water supply system pay a filing
fee to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources based on a per capita
amount that equals $350,000.
b. Remove the filing fees to IDNR. These fees were intended to provide
funding for the state to enforce the provisions of the federal Safe Drinking
Water Act. These fees actually double the mandates in that cities are
required to pay fees to the state in order to ensure that they are in
compliance with federal roles.
17. Landfill Waste Reduction Goals
a. Municipal landfills must meet certain waste reduction goals in order to
rerrrit less tonnage fees to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. As of
July 1, 1999, cities must meet the 50 percent of waste reduction level in
order to remit to the state only $1.95 per ton rom tipping fees received, as
opposed to $3.45 per ton if the landfill only met 0-24 percent of the goal or
$2.10 per ton if the city only met 25-49 percent of the goal. Cities are also
required to meet stringent requirements for disposal of certain items. For
example, cities cannot dispose of yard waste at a sanitary landfill unless it is
used for composting or soil conditioning. Municipal landfills are also
prohibited from burning yard waste.
b. Lift restrictions on cities and the allow cities to retain the entire amount
collected from tipping fees. Municipal landfills should meet their own
goals in waste reduction.
18. Civil Service Requirements
a. Code of Iowa Chapter 400 provides the cities with populations greater than
8,000, based on the 1980 Census, are required to follow a stringent and
complicated civil service hiring practices.
b. Eliminate Code of Iowa Chapter 400 and give cities the option of
adopting their own hiring practices.
19. Probationary Period for Law Enforcement Personnel
a. Code of Iowa 400.8(3) requires civil service cities to provide a nine month
probationary period for law enfomement personnel. This may require the
city to retain a poorly performing employee to the detriment of the
department and other officers.
b. Allow cities to determine the probationary period of city employees.
For more informalion susanjudkins~iowaleague.org
www.iowaleague.org konn/cawiezell~iowaleague.org
IOWA LEAGUE OF CITIES
State Mandates on Cities (continued)
Page 7 of 10
20. Civil Service-Filling a Higher Grade Position
a. In Code of Iowa Section 400.11 the last sentence reads "Any person
temporarily filling a vacancy in a position of higher grade for twenty days
or more, shall receive the salary paid in such higher grade." There are cities
that may agree to this in a collective bargaining agreement, but it is
surprising to find this mandate in the context of the civil service statute
rather than letting the local authority make that determination. This occurs
in the situation when a person in a supervisory position is absent or on leave
in excess of 20 days, and a subordinate steps in to perform that work during
the absence.
b. Remove this provision in the civil service legislation. When a person fills
a higher position, it is usually temporarily and therefore, after twenty days
the city is paying twice the higher salary. This double payment hinders a
city's ability to budget accordingly and limits a city's flexibility in
negotiating a different agreement with workers that would benefit both
parties.
21. Park Impact Fees
a. In a 2002 decision in Home Builders Association of Greater Des Moines v.
City of West Des Moines, the Iowa Supreme Court ruled that charging
developers for park development is a tax not expressly authorized by the
Code of Iowa. The court found there are "practical and sound reasons for
allowing a city to require a monetary exaction from a developer in lieu of al
dedication of parkland," but said "the decision to extend that power to local
government is for the legislature, not this court." The American Planning
Association (APA) defines impact fees as payments required by local
governments of new development to provide new or expanded public
capital facilities required to serve that development. The APA states impact
fees are being increasingly used by local governments throughout the
country to finance a wide variety of public facilities including sewer and
water facilities, parks, roads, schools and libraries. Approximately half of
the states have enacted enabling legislation for Impact fees.
b. Allow cities to enact legislation that authorizes impact fees to be used for
street, traffic control and infrastructure improvements needed to support
developments and for other public facihties including parks and other
recreation, convention, cultural or entertaiurnent facilities.
22. Public Improvement Bidding Threshold
a. For over 20 years, the state bidding law has required cities to publish notice
to bidders of taking sealed bids for any public improvement with an
estimated cost exceeding $25,000. The minimum threshold was set to
eliminate urmecessary and expensive paperwork for "small" projects. Like
any other construction project, the cost of city projects has increased greatly
over the past 20 years to the point where very few public projects cost less
For more informaiion
susanjuclkins~iowaleague.org
www.iowaleague.org koma/cawiezell~iowaleague.org
IOWA LEAGUE OF CITIES
State Mandates on Cities (continued)
Page 8 of 10
than $25,000. Publication costs have also increased during that time. Based
only on the consumer price index, inflation would have increased the
$25,000 public bidding threshold requirement set in 1980 to nearly $55,000
in 2002.
Raise the minimum threshold rate to $100,000 for public improvement
projects to eliminate today's small projects from a costly and time-
consuming process that results in no measurable benefit.
23. Local Option Sales Tax and Sales Tax Exemptions
a. Currently, cities can only collect a local option sales tax through a
referendum to voters. A local option sales tax referendum can only be
placed on the ballot through a petition of five percent of the county electors
having voted in the last state general election or a motion or motions of
governing bodies within the county must represent al least half of the
population of the county. There is also the expense for cities of holding the
election. If a city does have a local option sales tax, the city does not collect
the revenue generated from services and goods are tax-exempt.
b. Allow cities to adopt a local option sales tax by adopting a resolution. A
waiting period could be included to allow residents to petition for an
election. Allow cities to collect sales tax revenue on certain items such as
athletic lessons, athletic equipment rental, concession merchandise, sale of
city office equipment or furniture and promotional items for a city event.
24. Local Income Tax Revenue
a. School districts are allowed through Code of Iowa Sections 257.18 and
257.19 to impose a local income surtax up to a maximum twenty percent for
an instructional support program. The local school board can establish the
program for five-years without voter approval, subject to reverse
referendum, or 10-years with voter approval.
b. Allow cities to establish a 1% local income surtax to supplement city
budgets to make up for the loss of the consolidated payments from the
States.
25. ILEA Police Training (Free of Cost to Cities/Allowing Individuals to Attend)
a. When a city hires a police officer, the city is required to have the police
officer certified by sending the officer through the Iowa Law Enforcement
Academy. This training will cost a city approximmely $3,000 per officer.
This cost is prokibitive for smaller cities, which, in several cases, see their
certified officers find better paying jobs in larger cities. There is a provision
for reimbursement of law enforcement training; however, this provision has
not been funded by the state for some time. Cities may negotiate a contract
with the officer for repayment if the officer leaves before the term of the
contract expires, but there is no guarantee ofrepaymem.
b. Allow cities to send their officers to the ILEA for certification at no
cost. Since the state requires certification and no reimbursement money is
For more information susanjudk/ns~iowaleague.org
www. iowaleague.org konnicawiezell~iowaleague.org
IOWA
LEAGUE OF CITIES
State Mandates on Cities (continued)
Page 9 of 10
provided, this requirement is an unfunded mandate. Allow individuals to
attend ILEA at their own cost. This should also be allowed since the city
can hire the officer already certified and providing the best possible service
to citizens from the moment of hiring. The city will also save by not having
to fill the empty shifts of the officer while at ILEA.
26. Condemnation Notification
a. When a city wishes to condemn a property for the purposes of public
improvement, several notices must be filed and relocation assistance must
be provided to the current owner. The city must first send a notice to each
individual owner 30 days prior to adopting an ordinance or declaration of
intent for the public improvement. If the mailed notice is unsuccessful in
finding the owner, then the notice must be published in a newspaper. If the
city wishes to proceed with the condemnation, notice must be sent by
certified mall to each owner and mortgagee. Again, if the owner is not
located, then the notice must be published in the area newspaper. Locating
the owner can be increasingly difficult if the owner lives in another town or
state. An affidavit is required with the application for condemnation if the
owner is not located. Another statement must be provided indicating that
efforts were made at negotiating in "good faith" with the owner. Relocation
assistance is also set at $5,000.
b. Reduce the number of notices and the amount for relocation assistance.
Cities will not condemn property unless absolutely needed for a public
benefit.
27. Parking Fines
a. Currently, communities can only charge $5 for a parking violation. This
figure has not been increased since 1973. For cities with metered parking, a
$5 ticket is not a deterrent for those who leave their vehicle parked illegally
all day instead of parking in garages where parking may cost them up to $7.
No matter how many parking tickets the city gives, there is no answer to
business owners that feel their customers cannot find parking because of
parking violators during business hours. An overtime parking fine in Omaha
costs $16. In Kansas City, drivers can expect a ticket of $28.50 for violating
parking ordinances.
b. Allow cities to set reasonable fines for parking violations. Setting
parking fines is a local control issue.
28. Enforcement of Private Handicap Parking
a. Code of Iowa 321L.4 (3) requires law enforcement officers enforce
handicapped parking requirements on private property.
b. Remove requirement that law enforcement officers be required to
enforce this requirement on private property since it is the decision of
the property owner to have these handicapped parking spaces.
For more information
susanjudkins~iowaleague.org
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IOWA
LEAGUE OF CITITES
State Mandates on Cities (continued)
Page 10 of 10
29. Financial Audit Filing Fee
a. Cities are required to pay a fee when they file their Certified Financial
Audit with the Auditor of the State. This fee is in addition to the cost of
having the audit performed.
b. Eliminate filing fees for state audits. Cities should not be forced to pay
the state for a requirement imposed by the state.
30. City Civil Rights Commission
a. Under Code of Iowa 216.19. cities over 29,000 in population are mandated
to have in place a local civil rights comrmssion. These cities are further
mandated to "structure" and "adequately fund" the agency or commission.
b. Remove the civil rights commission mandate. The decision to have a
local civil rights commission or agency should solely be a local or home
rule decision. The jurisdiction of these local commissions overlaps with the
Iowa stare civil rights commission. Eliminating the local commission does
not reduce the remedy that any Iowan has to address charges of
discrimination. One city official commented, "There isn't necessarily any
connection between population and the need for an additional Conmnission.
The decision should be based on community values, priorities and need."
Costs for cities to "adequately fund" this commission has been in excess of
$200,000.
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