hat Do Counties Do? id You Know? W D

Counties in Iowa have a dual purpose: to pro- „ There are 3,067 counties in the United States. vide state services and to de- termine local service needs. „ Counties range in area from 67 square kilome- Counties originally existed to ters (Arlington County, Virginia) to 227,559 square carry out state functions at kilometers (North Slope Borough, Alaska). the local level, so counties have always been grassroots „ The population of counties vary from Loving level governments. County, Texas, with 140 residents to Los Angeles Iowa’s counties make a big impact on their citi- County, California, which is home to 9.2 million zens, whether it is human services, economic de- people. velopment, road maintenance, DARE programs, bat- „ tered women’s shelters, home health care nurses, Hawaii and Delaware each have the fewest library improvements, elections (local, state and counties (3); Texas has the most (254). national), or county parks. „ Counties with populations under 50,000 ac- counted for nearly 71% of all county governments How Are Counties Funded? in 2000. Understanding „ Connecticut and Rhode Island are the only two Property taxes are the main source of income states that are divided into geographic regions for counties and make up approximately 43 percent called counties, but do not have functioning gov- County of their budget on average statewide. The Iowa ernments. property tax is primarily a tax on “real property,” Government which is mostly land, buildings, structures and other „ Alaska calls its counties boroughs and Louisi- improvements such as a building, house or mobile ana calls them parishes. home, fences and paving. Generally home owners

Lyon pay less than half of the property tax collected each OsceolaDickinson Emmet Winnebago Worth Mitchell Howard Winneshiek Allamakee

Palo Alto year in Iowa. Farmers pay 19%, utility companies Sioux O’Brien Clay Kossuth Hancock Cerro Gordo Floyd Chickasaw Clayton Fayette Cherokee 8%, and businesses and industry a total of 25%. Plymouth Buena Vista Pocahontas Humboldt Wright Franklin Butler Bremer Grundy Buchanan Delaware Dubuque Ida Sac Calhoun Webster Black Hawk Woodbury Hamilton Hardin Counties have only a limited ability to raise Jackson Jones Monona CrawfordCarroll Greene Boone Story Marshall Tama Benton Linn money in other ways-one such way is the local op- Clinton Cedar Guthrie Dallas Jasper Poweshiek Iowa Johnson Scott tion sales tax, only possible with a favorable vote Harrison Shelby Audubon Polk Muscatine Pottawattamie Cass Adair Madison Warren Marion Mahaska Keokuk Washington Louisa Des Moines from the citizenry. Iowa property taxes are allocated Mills Montgomery Adams Union Clarke Lucas Monroe Wapello Jefferson Henry

Fremont Page Taylor Ringgold Decatur Wayne Appanoose Davis Van Buren to several taxing authorities, as indicated on the chart Lee below.

Average Allocation of Iowa Property Taxes For further information:

Iowa State Association of Counties 515-244-7181 www.iowacounties.org

National Association of Counties 202-393-6226 Iowa State Association of Counties www.naco.org hat Are The Departments In County Attorney (elected) Recorder (elected) County Government? „ Advise and represent county offices „ Real estate documents W „ „ Prosecution/trial Fine collections „ Permits (hunting, boating) A way to identify county services is by county „ Victim services „ Juvenile justice „ Certificates (birth, marriage) office and department. Below is the list of depart- „ Documents/contracts ments/offices that generally exist in a county and „ Liens their responsibilities.

Assessor Sheriff (elected) „ Determine real estate value for property taxes „ Abandoned vehicle salvage titles or sales „ Administer property tax exemptions „ Mental and substance abuse transports „ Courthouse security „ Drug task force „ „ Auditor (elected) Vehicle inspections Gun permits „ Reserve deputies „ Budgeting/accounting „ Elections Emergency Management „ Board meeting records „ Land/tax records „ Alcohol/cigarette permits „ Payroll „ Preparedness, response, recovery and mitiga- tion activities „ Address all risks that threaten the health, safety Community Services and welfare of the county including natural di- „ County funding of developmental disabilities, sasters (tornadoes, floods, etc.), man made di- mental health, general assistance and sub- sasters (industrial accident) and civil actions stance abuse services (terrorism, civil unrest). „ Short term assistance for the poor and needy „ Process, verify and document applications to determine applicant’s eligibility and disburses Engineer monies to qualified applicants „ Road construction „ Bridge repair (elected) „ Snow removal Supervisors „ Service to the secondary roadways within the The board of supervisors are the legislative body county of the county, composed of 3 or 5 members. „ County policy „ Approve bonds & reports Environmental Health „ County budget „ Fill employee vacancies „ Set county tax levy „ Economic development „ Prevents disease by controlling community en- vironmental health threats „ Provides local education on environmental Treasurer (elected) health issues „ Recipient of all monies payable to the county „ Investigates outbreaks and protects the public „ Tax collection from disease-causing hazards „ Vehicle registration Conservation „ Enforces regulations that protect community „ Vehicle license/title „ Develops, maintains and provides the public ac- health „ Bond registrar cess to a variety of areas that will meet the con- „ Drivers license issuance servation, recreation and wildlife needs of the Public Health Nurses citizens „ Public educational programs „ Offers skilled nursing services „ Camping „ Conducts educational programming „ Wildlife habitat improvement „ Promotes comprehensive care of the sick and „ Integrated roadside vegetation management disabled in the home „ Hiking/Biking Trails „ Promotes prevention of disease and disability