Polk County, Iowa

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Contents

Polk County is one of 99 counties in Iowa.

[edit] Website evaluation

Main article: Evaluation of Iowa county websites

[edit] The good

  • Budget is posted.[1]
  • County supervisors are listed with contact information.[2] Meetings are listed[3], along with agendas, minutes, and audio.[4]
  • Information on building permits is provided.[5] Zoning ordinance for unincorporated Polk is posted.[6]
  • Auditor financial report is available.[7]
  • Tax levy rates are provided.[8] Property taxes can be paid online.[9]
  • Contracts are included each week in the full agenda available via the Auditor’s website.[10]
  • Information can be found on the taxpayer-funded lobbying in this report, thought it is not very usable and was only posted in the Nov 18 meeting in 2008.[11]

Changes and/or new lobbying contracts are included in the weekly full agenda for the Board of Supervisors that are published on our website and also available as part of a twice weekly newsletter send to citizens who have signed up.[12] In this case the most recent lobbying contract was approved on November 18, 2008

[edit] Public records

[edit] The bad

Information for changes and/or new contracts including taxpayer funded lobbying is published in the full agenda for each Board of Supervisor’s meeting. While there is not a dedicated hyperlink for lobbying, citizens have access to this information and can sign-up to receive a twice-weekly newsletter containing links to full and summary agendas, minutes, and audio of meetings. http://auditor.co.polk.ia.us/news_signup.htm


  • Permit and Zoning information for unincorporated Polk County is available to all the unincorporated citizens that are under the jurisdiction of Polk County. Incorporated permits and zoning information is available from the city government that serves the citizens who live each city.

From the Polk County Public Works FAQs http://www.polkcountyiowa.gov/PublicWorks/pages/faq.aspx

Q. Can the County’s Planning Department assist with planning or zoning information for properties located within a city?

A. No. The Polk County Zoning Ordinance and Comprehensive Plan apply only to properties located outside of cities. Persons with questions about properties located within an incorporated boundary of a city should contact the city’s planning department. Contact Polk County Planning & Development at 515-286-3705 for more information.

Q. How can I learn if a property is located within a city or in the unincorporated area of the County?

A. Persons with Internet access may go to the Polk County website at www.co.polk.ia.us and select the County Assessor’s Office at the Department pull-down menu. Once at the Assessor’s Department webpage conduct a property search of the property by entering the address, district & parcel number, geo parcel number and/or property owner’s name in the appropriate field. When the specific property appears, look at the upper right hand side of the page for the Jurisdiction of the property. If a city name appears in the Jurisdiction field, persons should contact that city for planning and zoning information about the property. Persons should contact the Polk County Planning and Development Department at 515-286-3358 or 515-323-5373 for planning and zoning information if the name of a Polk County township appears in the jurisdiction field.

Zoning information is also available on a per-parcel basis at www.co.polk.ia.us along with the phone number and address information for cities within Polk County.


Working for accountable government now


[edit] Lobbying

In 1999, Polk County reported $40,000 spent on lobbying. [13]

[edit] Communities

[edit] Cities

[edit] Townships

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ↑ Budget
  2. ↑ Supervisors
  3. ↑ Meetings
  4. ↑ Agendas/Minutes
  5. ↑ Permits
  6. ↑ Zoning
  7. ↑ Auditor's Report
  8. ↑ Tax Levy
  9. ↑ Treasurer
  10. ↑ Contracts
  11. ↑ Meeting agenda and minutes, Nov 18, 2008
  12. ↑ News sign up
  13. ↑ Polk County - Open Secrets
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