Iowa Code 331.443 – Essential county purpose bonds
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1. A county which proposes to carry out an essential county purpose within or without its boundaries, and to contract indebtedness and issue general obligation bonds to provide funds to pay all or any part of the cost of a project shall do so in accordance with this part.
Terms Used In Iowa Code 331.443
- Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
- Auditor: means the county auditor or a deputy auditor or employee designated by the county auditor. See Iowa Code 331.101
- Board: means the board of supervisors of a county. See Iowa Code 331.101
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- Cost: means cost as defined in section 384. See Iowa Code 331.485
- District: means a joint special assessment district, and a county special assessment district. See Iowa Code 331.485
- Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
- Project: means the acquisition, construction, reconstruction, extending, remodeling, improving, repairing, and equipping of all or part of a county enterprise or combined county enterprise within or without the boundaries of the county. See Iowa Code 331.461
- property: includes personal and real property. See Iowa Code 4.1
- property owner: means the contract purchaser if there is one of record, otherwise the record holder of legal title. See Iowa Code 364.12
- United States: includes all the states. See Iowa Code 4.1
2. Before the board may institute proceedings for the issuance of bonds for an essential county purpose, a notice of the proposed action, including a statement of the amount and purposes of the bonds, and the time and place of the meeting at which the board proposes to take action for the issuance of the bonds, shall be published as provided in section 331.305. At the meeting, the board shall receive oral or written objections from any resident or property owner of the county. After all objections have been received and considered, the board, at that meeting or a date to which it is adjourned, may take additional action for the issuance of the bonds or abandon the proposal to issue the bonds. Any resident or property owner of the county may appeal the decision of the board to take additional action to the district court of the county, within fifteen days after the additional action is taken, but the additional action of the board is final and conclusive unless the court finds that the board exceeded its authority. The provisions of this subsection with respect to notice, hearing, and appeal, are in lieu of any other law.
3. a. Notwithstanding subsection 2, a board may institute proceedings for the issuance of bonds for an essential county purpose specified in section 331.441, subsection 2, paragraph “b”, subparagraph (18) or (19), in an amount equal to or greater than three million dollars by causing a notice of the proposal to issue the bonds, including a statement of the amount and purpose of the bonds, together with the maximum rate of interest which the bonds are to bear, and the right to petition for an election, to be published at least once in a newspaper of general circulation within the county at least ten days prior to the meeting at which it is proposed to take action for the issuance of the bonds.
b. If at any time before the date fixed for taking action for the issuance of the bonds, a petition is filed with the county auditor, signed by eligible electors of the county equal in number to twenty percent of the persons in the county who voted for the office of president of the United States at the last preceding general election that had such office on the ballot, asking that the question of issuing the bonds be submitted to the registered voters of the county, the board shall either by resolution declare the proposal to issue the bonds to have been abandoned or shall direct the county commissioner of elections to call a special election upon the question of issuing the bonds. Notice of the election and its conduct shall be in the manner provided in section 331.442.
c. If a petition is not filed, or if a petition is filed and the proposition of issuing the bonds is approved at an election, the board may proceed with the authorization and issuance of the bonds.