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General Information about Drainage Districts
Iowa Drainage Laws can be found in Chapter
468 of the Iowa
Code
Drainage districts
were established for drainage of surface waters from
agricultural and other lands for the protection of said
lands from overflow when said protection is a public
benefit or is conducive to public health, convenience,
and welfare (Section 468.2, State Code Of
Iowa).
Districts are established
by the Drainage District Trustees at the request of the land owners
within the proposed district (Section 468.6-468.8). Petitions and
actions to establish are kept in the minute books in the county
courthouse.
Under the Code Of Iowa,
Chapter 468 the County Board Of Supervisors acts as Drainage
District Trustees in all
District matters. The land owners of a particular district may, if
they wish, elect their own trustees and maintain the district
themselves.
Requests for repairs should
be directed to the drainage clerk in the Southeast Office in the
rotunda of the courthouse. Complaints, problems, or questions can
also be made to the Auditor’s Office on second floor.
The trustees are required by the Code
Of Iowa (Section 468.126) to maintain all drainage districts at their
original capacity. Notice of repairs is only required when the
cost will exceed $20,000 or 75% of the original assessed value of
the district counting subsequent improvements, whichever is greater.
Land owners in the
district, not the County, own and pay for all maintenance and
repairs to that district. An independent contractor hired by the
trustees will do the work and bill the cost to the district.
Assessments are made as
necessary to pay for engineering costs, improvements, and repairs
within a given drainage district.
Assessments or
classification of land in a drainage district is based on the
benefit that land is seen to receive from being in the district.
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The original assessed
value of any parcel of land within a district was set when that
district was established and is the basis for all assessments
unless the district is reclassified by the trustees (Section
468.49).
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Assessments represent a
percentage of the original assessment.
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Properties near the
bottom of the district or adjacent to a district tile line will
normally pay more than properties at the top of the district or
that are not close to a district tile. District maps show where
property is located within the district in relation to the
district tiles. Tile maps are stored in the Drainage Office on
the first floor and also in the Board of Supervisors' room next to
the Auditor’s Office on the second floor of the courthouse.
Copies can be made upon request.
Drainage districts are not
levied on a regular basis. Drainage districts are levied when
district funds drop to zero. When a district is levied the trustees
set the percentage such that a surplus remains after all bills are
paid. The district will not be levied again until its funds are
depleted which depends on the amount of work required in the
district. Some districts are levied in 2 years while some may go 50
years or more without a levy.
Delinquent drainage
assessments become a lien on the property (Section 468.51). The
property can then be sold for back taxes/assessments just as it can
be sold for non-payment of property taxes (Section 468.158-.162).
Members can not exempt themselves from the district unless the
district is dissolved (Sections 468.250-468.261). |
