Relating to townships, including the appointment and duties of township officers, township budgets, and the provision of fire protection and emergency medical services to townships by cities, and including effective date provisions

This bill relates to township boards of trustees, including the appointment and duties of township officers and township budgets. Under current law, the county board of supervisors is responsible for dividing each county into townships. Townships in Iowa have a board of township trustees that is typically composed of three members who are registered voters of the township. A board of trustees for a township with a taxable valuation for property tax purposes of $250 million or more consists of five registered voters of the township. The township trustees act as fence viewers for the township and perform other duties assigned by law, including funding and maintaining pioneer cemeteries, fire protection services, and emergency medical services, and serving as the township animal board of health. Township trustees are elected to serve four-year terms. A board of trustees is supported by a township clerk, who is elected to serve a four-year term. Most provisions of the bill apply to townships depending on the population of the county in which a respective township is located. For townships in counties with populations below 14,484, most provisions of the bill apply to fiscal years beginning on and after July 1, 2027. For townships in counties with populations of at least 14,484 but not more than 52,403, most provisions of the bill apply to fiscal years beginning on and after July 1, 2029. For townships in counties with populations of more than 52,403, most provisions of the bill apply to fiscal years beginning on and after July 1, 2031. The bill contains different effective date and applicability provisions to allow for the transition of certain provisions as they apply to townships in counties of different populations. The bill eliminates township trustees as an elected position and instead requires the board of supervisors to appoint three registered voters in each township to serve a three-year term on the board of trustees. The bill eliminates the township clerk as an elected position and instead requires the board of supervisors to appoint a township clerk for a four-year term. Prior to an appointee’s initial term as a township trustee or township clerk, the appointee must attend a training on township budgets and responsibilities offered by the county agriculture extension council in collaboration with the department of management and organizations representing county and city governments. The bill requires the board of supervisors to appoint five or seven township trustees in the county to serve as countywide fence viewers and, by operation of law, as a countywide animal board of health. The bill disqualifies a fence viewer with a conflict of interest from participating in a matter without, as provided in current law, requiring a vote of the other fence viewers on whether to disqualify the fence viewer with a conflict of interest. When a matter arises involving land located in two different counties, the bill requires the board of supervisors of the county of the owner making the application to select three fence viewers and the board of supervisors from the other county to select two fence viewers, who together shall perform all duties of the fence viewers. A board of township trustees is responsible for adopting and certifying a township budget. Prior to adoption and certification of the budget, the bill requires the board of township trustees to provide the proposed budget to the board of supervisors for approval.49. The bill requires a board of township trustees to obtain the approval of the board of supervisors prior to amending an adopted budget. Under the bill, each board of township trustees shall provide to the department of management a report outlining certain financial information by December 31, 2027, and by December 31 each year thereafter. This provision applies to all townships upon enactment. The bill repeals Code chapter 360, which governs the building or acquisition of public halls to serve as township halls. This repeal applies to all townships upon enactment. The bill terminates the term of all elected township officials in all townships in this state on January 1 of the applicable year. A person serving as a township trustee or township clerk pursuant to current law may continue serving in that role until January 1 of that year. Current law requires the board of supervisors to fix the compensation for services for county and township officers and employees if not otherwise fixed by state law. The bill specifies that the board of supervisors shall fix the compensation for services of township trustees and clerks, and states that a person performing services for a township is an employee of the county and not of the township. Under current law, each employee whose employment commences after July 4, 1953, or any publicly elected official of the state or any of its political subdivisions shall become a member of the Iowa public employees’ retirement system (IPERS) upon the first day in which such employee is employed. The term “employee” includes elective officials of townships. The bill removes elective officials of townships from the definition of “employee” for purposes of IPERS. Current law authorizes IPERS to enter into an agreement with the federal security administration or its successor (currently the United States social security administration) for the purpose of extending the benefits of the federal old-age and survivors’ insurance system to employees of the state or any political subdivision thereof with respect to services specified in such agreement that constitute “employment”. The agreement must provide that benefits will be provided for employees whose services are covered by the agreement, and their dependents and survivors, on the same basis as though such services constituted employment within the meaning of Tit. II of the federal Social Security Act, and the state will pay to the secretary of the treasury contributions with respect to wages. All services that constitute employment and are performed in the employ of the state, or any political subdivision, by employees of the state, or of any political subdivision, shall be covered by the agreement. The term “employee” includes elective and appointive officials of the state or any political subdivision thereof, except elective officials in positions, the compensation for which is on a fee basis, elective officials of school districts, elective officials of townships, and elective officials of other political subdivisions who are in part-time positions. The bill provides that the term “employee” includes elective and appointive officials of the state or any political subdivision thereof, except elective officials in positions, the compensation for which is on a fee basis, elective officials of school districts, and elective officials of other political subdivisions who are in part-time positions. Current law provides that the term “political subdivision” includes an instrumentality of the state of Iowa, of one or more of its political subdivisions, or of the state and one or more of its political subdivisions, but only if such instrumentality is a juristic entity that is legally separate and distinct from the state or subdivision and only if its employees are not by virtue of their relation to such juristic entity employees of the state or subdivisions.