331.553 General powers.

The treasurer may:

1. Administer oaths and take affirmations as provided in sections 63A.2 and 421.21.

2. Subject to the requirements of section 331.903, appoint and remove deputies, clerks and assistants.

3. Require that payment be made by guaranteed funds for tax sale redemptions, issuance of plat clearances, issuance of tax clearances for mobile homes, payments of taxes or assessments made within the thirty days prior to the annual tax sale or any adjournment of the tax sale, and any other payment which is to be collected by the county treasurer. For the purposes of this subsection, “guaranteed funds” means cash, cashier’s check, money order, travelers’ check, or certified check.

4. Charge five dollars, as an administrative expense, for every rate, charge, rental, or special assessment certified as a lien to the treasurer for collection. This amount shall be added to the amount of the lien, collected at the time of payment from the payor, and credited to the county general fund. If the amount of the lien is paid in annual installments, an administrative expense charge shall be added to each annual installment.

5. Accept credit cards and electronic transfers of funds in payment of moneys due to the county, including but not limited to credits and reimbursements received from the state, tax payments, and tax sale redemptions. A county treasurer may adjust fees to reflect the cost of processing such payments.

6. Require a payor or an agent of a payor to make payment by electronic transfer of the funds through the county treasurer’s authorized internet site when the payment totals fifty thousand dollars or more.

7. Treat a payment made by electronic funds transfer as if it were a paper check for purposes of section 554.3512.

8. Pursuant to an agreement under chapter 28E, collect delinquent parking fines on behalf of a city in conjunction with renewal of motor vehicle registrations pursuant to section 321.40. If the agreement provides for a fee to be paid to or retained by the county treasurer from the collection of parking fines, such fees shall be credited to the county general fund. Fines collected pursuant to this subsection shall be remitted biannually to the city. Notwithstanding section 28E.10, a county treasurer may utilize the state department of transportation’s vehicle registration and titling system to facilitate the purposes of this subsection.

[C51, §411; R60, §642; C73, §766; C97, SS15, §491; C24, 27, 31, 35, 39, §5238, 5240; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §341.1, 341.3; S81, §331.553; 81 Acts, ch 117, §552]

91 Acts, ch 191, §11; 95 Acts, ch 57, §5; 97 Acts, ch 121, §5; 2002 Acts, ch 1043, §3; 2003 Acts, ch 18, §4; 2004 Acts, ch 1092, §6; 2005 Acts, ch 34, §7, 8, 26; 2005 Acts, ch 54, §9, 12; 2013 Acts, ch 90, §257

Referred to in §321.40, 321.236, 445.1

For definitions applicable to subsection 3, see §445.1