2023 Iowa Code › Title IX - LOCAL GOVERNMENT › Chapter 346 - JOINT COUNTY AND CITY BUILDINGS › Section 346.27 - “Authority” for control of joint property.

346.27 “Authority” for control of joint property.
1. Any joint building acquired, owned, erected, constructed, controlled, or occupied in accordance with the authorization contained in this section is declared to be acquired, owned, erected, constructed, controlled, or occupied for a public purpose and as a matter of public need.
2. Any county may join with its county seat to incorporate an “Authority” for the purpose of acquiring, constructing, demolishing, improving, enlarging, equipping, furnishing, repairing, maintaining, and operating a public building, and to acquire and prepare the necessary site, including demolition of any structures, for the joint use of the county and city or any school district which is within or is a part of the county or city.
3. The incorporation of an authority shall be accomplished by the adoption of articles of incorporation by the governing body of each incorporating unit. For adoption, the affirmative vote of a majority of the members of each governing body is required. The articles of incorporation shall be executed for and on behalf of each incorporating unit by the following officers:
a. For the county, by the chairperson of the board of supervisors.
b. For the city, by its mayor and city clerk.
4. The articles of incorporation shall set forth the name of the authority, the name of the incorporating units, the purpose for which the authority is created, the number, terms, and manner of selection of its officers including its governing body which shall be known as the “commission”, the powers and duties of the authority and of its officers, the date upon which the authority becomes effective, the name of the newspaper in which the articles of incorporation shall be published, and any other matters.
5. The authority shall be directed and governed by a board of commissioners of three members, one to be elected by the board of supervisors of the county from the area outside of the county seat, one to be elected by the council of the city from the area inside the city, and one to be elected by the joint action of the board of supervisors of the county and the council of the city, and if the governing bodies are unable to agree upon a choice for the third member within sixty days of the election of the first member, then the third member shall be appointed by the governor. The commissioners shall serve for six-year terms. Of the first appointees, the member appointed by the board of supervisors shall be for a term of two years, the member appointed by the city council shall be for a term of four years, and the member appointed by the joint action of the board and council shall be for a term of six years. The board of commissioners shall designate one of their number as chairperson, one as secretary, and one as treasurer, and shall adopt bylaws and rules of procedure and provide therein for regular meetings and for the proper safekeeping of its records. No commissioner shall receive any compensation in connection with services as commissioner. Each commissioner, however, shall be entitled to reimbursement for any necessary expenditures in connection with the performance of the commissioner’s duties.
6. The articles of incorporation shall be recorded in the office of the county recorder and filed with the secretary of state, and shall be published once in a newspaper designated in the articles of incorporation and having a general circulation within the county, and upon such recording and publication, the authority shall be deemed to come into existence.
7. Amendments may be made to the articles of incorporation if adopted by the governing body of each incorporating unit; provided that no amendment shall impair the obligation of any bond or other contract. Each amendment shall be adopted, executed, recorded and published in the same manner as specified for the original articles of incorporation.
8. Any incorporating unit may make donations of property, real or personal, including gratuitous lease, to the authority as deemed proper and appropriate in aiding the authority to effectuate its purposes.
9. The authority shall be a body corporate with power to sue and be sued in any court of this state, have a seal and alter the same at its pleasure, and make and execute contracts, leases, deeds, and other instruments necessary or convenient to the exercise of its powers. In addition, it shall have and exercise the following public and essential governmental powers and functions and all other powers incidental or necessary to carry out and effectuate its express powers:
a. To select, locate, and designate an area lying wholly within the territorial limits of the county seat of the county in which the authority is incorporated as the site to be acquired for the construction, alteration, enlargement, or improvement of a building. The site selected is subject to approval by a majority of the members of each governing body of the incorporating units.
b. To acquire in the corporate name of the authority the fee simple title to the real property located within the area by purchase, gift, devise, or by the exercise of the power of eminent domain consistent with the provisions of chapters 6A and 6B, or to take possession of real estate by lease.
c. To demolish, repair, alter, or improve any building within the designated area, to construct a new building within the area and to furnish, equip, maintain, and operate the building.
d. To construct, repair, and install streets, sidewalks, sewers, water pipes, and other similar facilities and otherwise improve the site.
e. To make provisions for off-street parking facilities.
f. To operate, maintain, manage, and enter into contracts for the operation, maintenance, and management of buildings, and to provide rules for the operation, maintenance and management.
g. To employ and fix the compensation of technical, professional, and clerical assistance as necessary and expedient to accomplish the objects and purposes of the authority.
h. To lease all or any part of a building to the incorporating units for a period of time not to exceed fifty years, upon rental terms agreed upon between the authority and the incorporating units. The rentals specified shall be subject to increase by agreement of the incorporating units and the authority if necessary in order to provide funds to meet obligations.
i. To procure insurance of any and all kinds in connection with the building. The bidding procedures provided in section 73A.18 shall be utilized in the procurement of insurance.
j. To accept donations, contributions, capital grants, or gifts from individuals, associations, municipal and private corporations, and the United States, or any agency or instrumentality thereof, and to enter into agreements in connection therewith.
k. To borrow money and to issue and sell revenue bonds in an amount and with maturity dates not in excess of fifty years from date of issue, to provide funds for the purpose of acquiring, constructing, demolishing, improving, enlarging, equipping, furnishing, repairing, maintaining, and operating buildings, and to acquire and prepare sites, convenient therefor, and to pay all incidental costs and expenses, including, but not limited to architectural, engineering, legal, and financing expense and to refund and refinance revenue bonds as often as deemed advantageous by the board of commissioners.
l. The provisions of chapter 73A applicable to other municipalities are applicable to an authority.
10. a. After the incorporation of an authority, and before the sale of any issue of revenue bonds, except refunding bonds, the authority shall submit to the voters the question of whether the authority shall issue and sell revenue bonds. The ballot shall state the amount of the bonds and the purposes for which the authority is incorporated. All registered voters of the county shall be entitled to vote on the question. The question may be submitted at an election held on a date specified in section 39.2, subsection 4, paragraph “a” or “b”, as applicable. An affirmative vote of a majority of the votes cast on the question is required to authorize the issuance and sale of revenue bonds.
b. In addition to the notice required by section 49.53, a notice of the election shall be published once each week for at least two weeks in some newspaper published in the county stating the date of the election, the hours the polls will be open, and a copy of the question. The authority shall call this election with the concurrence of both incorporating units. The election shall be conducted by the commissioner in accordance with the provisions of chapters 49 and 50.
11. When the board of commissioners decides to issue bonds subject to the election requirement, it shall adopt a resolution describing the area to be acquired, the nature of the existing improvements, the disposition to be made of the improvements, and a general description of any new buildings to be constructed.
12. The resolution shall set out the limit of the cost of the project, including the cost of acquiring and preparing the site, determine the period of usefulness and fix the amount of revenue bonds to be issued, the date or dates of maturity, the dates on which interest is payable, the sinking fund provisions, and all other details in connection with the bonds. The board shall determine and fix the rate of interest of any revenue bonds issued, in a resolution adopted by the board prior to the issuance. The resolution, trust agreement, or other contract entered into with the bondholders may contain covenants and restrictions concerning the issuance of additional revenue bonds as necessary or advisable for the assurance of the payment of the bonds authorized.
13. Bonds shall be issued in the name of the authority and are declared to have all the qualities and incidents of negotiable instruments under the laws of this state.
14. Bonds issued under this section may be issued as serial or term bonds, shall be of such denomination or denominations and form, including interest coupons to be attached, shall be payable at such place or places and bear such date as the board of commissioners fix by the resolution authorizing the bonds, shall mature within a period not to exceed fifty years, and may be redeemable prior to maturity with or without premium, at the option of the board of commissioners, upon terms and conditions the board shall fix by the resolution authorizing the issuance of bonds. The board of commissioners may provide for the registration of bonds in the name of the owner as to the principal alone or as to both principal and interest upon terms and conditions the board determines. All bonds issued by an authority shall be sold at a price so that the interest cost to the commission of the proceeds of the bonds shall not exceed that permitted by chapter 74A, payable semiannually, computed to maturity, and shall be sold in the manner and at the time the board of commissioners determines.
15. Bonds issued by an authority, and the interest thereon, shall be payable solely from the revenues derived from the operation, management, or use of the buildings acquired or to be acquired by the authority, which revenues shall include payments received under any leases or other contracts for the use of the buildings. Bonds shall recite that the principal and interest thereon are payable only from the revenues pledged, and shall state on their face that they are not an indebtedness of the authority or a claim against the property of the authority.
16. Bonds shall be executed in the name of the commission by the chairperson of the board of commissioners or by another officer of the commission as the board, by resolution, may direct, and be attested by the secretary, or by another officer of the commission as the board, by resolution, may direct, and shall be sealed with the commission’s corporate seal. In case any officer whose signature appears on the bonds or coupons shall cease to be such officer before delivery of the bonds, the officer’s signature shall be valid and sufficient for all purposes, the same as if the officer had remained in office until delivery.
17. In its discretion, the authority may issue refunding bonds to refund its bonds prior to their maturity, refund its outstanding matured bonds, refund matured coupons evidencing interest upon its outstanding bonds, refund interest at the coupon rate that has accrued upon its outstanding matured bonds, and refund its bonds which by their terms are subject to call or redemption before maturity. All bonds redeemed or purchased shall be canceled.
18. To secure the payment of revenue bonds and for the purpose of setting forth the covenants and undertakings of the authority in connection with the issuance of revenue bonds and the issuance of any additional revenue bonds payable from such revenue income to be derived from the operation, management, or use of the buildings acquired or to be acquired by the authority, the authority may execute and deliver a trust agreement except that no lien upon any physical property of the authority shall be created.
19. The resolution shall provide for the creation of a sinking fund account into which shall be payable from the revenues of the project, from month to month as such revenues are collected, the sums in excess of the cost of maintenance and operation of the project and the cost of administration of the authority, sufficient to comply with the covenants of the bond resolution and sufficient to pay the accruing interest and retire the bonds at maturity. The board of commissioners, in a resolution, may provide for other accounts as necessary for the sale of the bonds. Moneys in the accounts shall be applied in the manner provided by the resolution, the trust agreement, or other contract with the bondholders.
20. No such bonds shall constitute a debt of the authority or of any public body within the meaning of any statutory or constitutional limitation as to debt.
21. From and after the issuance of bonds the board of commissioners shall establish and fix rates, rentals, fees, and charges for the use of any and all buildings or space owned and operated by the authority, sufficient at all times to pay maintenance and operation costs and to pay the accruing interest and retire the bonds at maturity and to make all payments to all accounts created by any bond resolution and to comply with all covenants of any bond resolution.
22. When an incorporating unit enters into a lease with the authority, the governing body of the incorporating unit shall provide by ordinance or resolution for the levy and collection of a direct annual tax sufficient to pay the annual rent payable under the lease as and when it becomes due and payable. The tax shall be levied and collected in like manner with the other taxes of the incorporating unit and shall be in addition to all other taxes authorized to be levied by that incorporating unit. This tax shall not be included within and shall be in addition to any statutory limitation of rate or amount for that incorporating unit. The taxes realized from the tax levy shall be deposited into an account in the debt service fund of the incorporating unit for the payment of the annual rent and shall not be disbursed for any other purpose until the annual rental has been paid in full.
23. All leases, contracts, deeds of conveyance, bonds, or other instruments in writing on behalf of the authority, shall be executed in the name of the authority by the chairperson and secretary of the authority, or by other officers as the board of commissioners, by resolution, directs, and the seal of the authority shall be affixed.
24. All property owned by any authority shall be exempt from taxation by the state or any taxing unit of the state. However, any interest derived from bonds issued by the authority shall be subject to taxation.
25. a. When all bonds issued by an authority have been retired, the authority may convey the title to the property owned by the authority to the incorporating units in accordance with the provisions contained in the articles of incorporation. If articles of incorporation do not exist, the conveyance may be made in accordance with any agreement adopted by the respective governing bodies of the incorporating units and the authority.
b. The question of whether a conveyance shall be made shall be submitted to the registered voters of the county. An affirmative vote equal to at least a majority of the total votes cast on the question shall be required to authorize the conveyance. If the question does not carry, the authority shall continue to operate, maintain, and manage the building under a lease arrangement with the incorporating units.
26. Any incorporating unit may enter into a lease with an authority that the authority and the incorporating unit determine is necessary and convenient to effectuate their purposes and the purposes of this section. The power to enter into leases under this section is in addition to other powers granted to cities and counties to enter into leases and the provisions of chapter 75, section 364.4, subsection 4, and section 331.301, subsection 10, are not applicable to leases entered into under this section.
[C62, §368.50 – 368.53; C66, 71, 73, §368.54, 368.55, 368.57 – 368.71; C75, 77, 79, 81, §346.27]
95 Acts, ch 67, §53; 2002 Acts, ch 1134, §100, 101, 115; 2003 Acts, ch 178, §26; 2004 Acts, ch 1175, §247, 248, 287
; 2006 Acts, 1st Ex, ch 1001, §31, 49
; 2008 Acts, ch 1115, §56, 71; 2012 Acts, ch 1060, §3, 7
Referred to in §331.430, 384.4, 403.19