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County asks staff to confirm statutory language before attaching turbine tax treatment to local ordinance
Summary
A board member reported research showing that assessing wind turbines at 30% of acquisition cost requires explicit reference to Iowa Code 427B.26; otherwise turbines are assessed under the Iowa Property Appraisal Manual using kilowatt and tower‑height rates. The board asked staff to confirm references before finalizing ordinance language.
During other business, a supervisor asked staff to confirm how local ordinances should reference state statute if the county wants to assess wind turbines at a specific fraction of acquisition cost. The supervisor said some counties include language tying local assessment practice to Iowa Code section 427B.26; without that reference, turbines default to valuation methods in the Iowa Property Appraisal Manual (which uses a per‑kilowatt rate plus an adjustment for tower height).
"The only way that that actually happens is if the ordinance references code section 427B.26," the official told the board, urging staff to check whether the draft ordinance currently includes that citation. The supervisor said he reviewed the appraisal manual and found turbine assessment formulas that combine a kilowatt rate and a tower‑height factor, and recommended the board confirm which approach it wants before adopting ordinance language.
Board members agreed staff should investigate which counties use 427B.26 and whether the local draft should reference the code to secure the 30% acquisition‑cost assessment stepdown. Staff committed to returning with a clearer recommendation tied to state code and appraisal guidance.
