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Polk County treasurer requests five FTEs, cites title-transfer losses and high attrition
Summary
Polk County Treasurer Mary Wells requested five additional FTEs and overtime funding to address high attrition and service demand, citing a net loss of 556 titles in December after cross-state titling began Jan. 1 and estimated revenue gains from new fees and online services.
Mary Wells, Polk County treasurer, presented the Treasurer's Office FY26 budget and asked supervisors to consider decision packages totaling roughly $692,000, including five additional FTEs and funding for overtime and postal increases.
Wells said the office projects more than $18,000,000 in additional revenue and expenses just over $9,000,000 for FY26. She cited a new ability to collect an additional $10 in fees on certain titling transactions beginning Jan. 1, which the office estimates could generate about $1.6 million compared with FY25.
Wells described significant staffing challenges in front-line roles: a roughly 30% annual attrition rate concentrated in the customer service assistant position (formerly "universal cashier"), mandatory overtime (about 16 hours a month per person), and training that takes about six months before staff are fully productive. The office serves about 1,000 to 1,200 phone and in-person customers daily, Wells said, and the requested five FTEs are intended to reduce overtime and stabilize front-window service.
She also reported operational improvements: a point-of-sale rollout that accepts digital wallets, a Qflow queuing system, appointment scheduling for title transactions, multi-dealer appointment blocks, QR codes added to property-tax stubs linking to Iowa Tax & Tag, website translation and security upgrades, and a marketing push that increased transactions nearly 10%.
On title transfers, Wells said Polk County experienced a net loss of 556 titles in December after contiguous-county changes last year and cross-state titling starting Jan. 1. She named Jasper, Warren, Story, Madison and Dallas counties among the exchanges and said the office keeps $12.50 of the $35 charged for out-of-county title registrations.
Wells estimated the five additional FTEs would cost about $470,000 all-inclusive with a six-month ramp-up to improved staffing levels; supervisors asked for three-year trend data and for staff to tour the office so supervisors can better understand the proposed changes.
The board did not vote on Wells' packages during the presentation; supervisors scheduled formal budget deliberations to begin the following week.
