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Warren County approves 28E collection agreement with Lucas County after staff review of recent revenue gains
Summary
Warren County supervisors approved a 28E agreement to collect delinquent court obligations for Lucas County after the county's collections team reported year-over-year increases in recoveries and described how jail-fee collections are returned to the sheriff under Iowa law.
Warren County supervisors voted unanimously to approve a 28E agreement allowing the county's collections office to collect delinquent court obligations for Lucas County, a step the collections team said will bring new revenue to partnering counties.
The collections office reported $651,362 collected for Warren County so far this fiscal year, up from $523,482 the same period last year, an increase of $127,880. Jamie, a member of the county collections staff, told the board the office also has begun collecting jail fees for the sheriff after a 2020 law change made those civil matters.
Jamie said, "So far this fiscal year, we've collected $651,362 for Warren County. For that same period last year, we were at $523,482 which is an increase of $127,880," and described the collections team effort, including staff members Ellie and Abby. Jamie added the office collected just over $50,000 in jail fees for the sheriff for July 2024 through May 2025 and more than $97,000 over the last three years since the county took over those collections.
Why it matters: the collections office said recovered funds for jail fees are returned to the sheriff more quickly than under the prior process, and Iowa Code restricts how those jail-fee dollars may be spent. Jamie summarized the statutory uses, saying 60% of such funds "should be used for police or law enforcement budget and can only be used for things like courthouse security and law enforcement personnel costs, infrastructure improvements of a jail, including newer remodeling costs and infrastructure and improvements of detention juvenile detention facilities, including new or remodeling costs." The board briefly discussed the program's local budget implications and approved the agreement.
Supporting details: the collections team also described a recent 28E agreement with Clark County (October 2024 to April 2025) that produced $121,828 in collections, up from $87,990 the prior comparable period. Jamie told supervisors that Union County and Lucas County have expressed interest in the county's collections services; the presentation said counties would receive 65% of collections under the proposed arrangements and the collections office would retain 35%.
Board action: a supervisor moved to approve the 28E agreement; the motion passed on a unanimous roll call vote recorded as Erickson: Aye; DeWitt: Aye; Arnold: Aye; McIntyre: Aye; DeCook: Aye. The board thanked the collections team and encouraged expansion of the program.
What remains: staff said implementation will include license-reinstatement assistance for defendants and that details of how partner counties will refer accounts will follow. Supervisors did not request additional legal action at the meeting; they approved the agreement and signaled support for accepting additional county partners.
Ending: The county will proceed to sign the 28E agreement and begin collections for Lucas County under the terms presented; supervisors said they expect to revisit program details as partner counties are added and as staff refines implementation.
