347A.1 Revenue bonds--trustees--administration.

A county having a population less than one hundred fifty thousand may issue revenue bonds for a county hospital as provided in section 331.461, subsection 2, paragraph "e". The administration and management of the hospital shall be vested in a board of hospital trustees consisting of five or seven members. Appointments for a five-member board shall be made by the board of supervisors from among the resident citizens of the county with reference to their fitness for office, and not more than two of the trustees shall be residents of the same township. Expansion from a five-member to a seven-member board of trustees shall occur only on approval of a majority of the five-member board of trustees. The five-member board of trustees shall appoint members to the additional vacancies; one appointee shall serve until the succeeding general election and the other appointee shall serve until the second succeeding general election at which times successors shall be elected.

The trustees shall hold office until the next succeeding election, at which time their successors shall be elected, two for a term of two years, two for a term of four years and one for a term of six years, and thereafter their successors shall be elected for regular terms of six years each. Vacancies in the board of trustees may be filled in the same manner as original appointments, to hold office until the vacancies are filled pursuant to section 69.12. The trustees shall qualify by taking the usual oath of office as provided in chapter 63, but no bond shall be required of them. The trustees shall receive no compensation but shall be reimbursed for all expenses incurred by them with the approval of the board of trustees in the performance of their duties. The board first appointed shall organize promptly following its appointment, and shall serve until successors are elected and qualified; thereafter no later than December 1 of each year the board shall reorganize by the appointment of a chairperson, secretary, and treasurer. The secretary and treasurer shall each file with the chairperson of the board a surety bond in the amount the board of trustees requires, with sureties to be approved by the board of trustees, for the use and benefit of the county hospital. The reasonable cost of the bonds shall be paid from the operating funds of the hospital. The secretary shall report to the county auditor and the county treasurer the names of the chairperson, secretary, and treasurer of the board as soon as practicable after the appointment of each.

The treasurer of the county hospital shall receive and disburse all funds. Warrants shall be drawn by the secretary and countersigned by the chairperson of the board after the claim has been certified by the board. However, the board may adopt purchasing regulations to govern the purchase of specified goods and services without the prior certification of the board. The purchasing regulations shall conform to generally accepted practices followed by purchasing officers. The treasurer of the county hospital shall keep an accurate account of all receipts and disbursements and shall register all orders drawn and reported by the secretary, showing the number, date, to whom drawn, the fund upon which drawn, the purpose, and amount. The secretary of the board of trustees shall file with the board on or before the tenth day of each month, a complete statement of all receipts and disbursements from all funds during the preceding month, and also the balance remaining on hand in all funds at the close of the period covered by the statement. Before the fifteenth day of each month, the county treasurer shall give notice to the chairperson of the board of trustees of the amount of revenue collected for each fund of the hospital to the first day of that month and the county treasurer shall pay the taxes to the treasurer of the hospital as provided in section 331.552, subsection 29.

The board of hospital trustees may employ, fix the compensation of, and remove at pleasure professional, technical, and other employees as it deems necessary for the operation and maintenance of the hospital, and disbursement of funds for operation and maintenance shall be made upon order and approval of the board of hospital trustees. A county hospital may include a nurses home and nurses training school. The board of trustees shall make all rules and regulations governing its meetings and the operation of the county hospital and shall fix charges for the services furnished so that the revenues will be at all times sufficient in the aggregate to provide for the payment of the interest on and principal of all revenue bonds issued and outstanding for the hospital, and for the payment of all operating and maintenance expenses of the hospital.

The board of hospital trustees may establish a fund for depreciation as a separate fund. Depreciation fund moneys may be invested in United States government bonds and the accumulation of interest on the bonds shall be used for the purposes of the depreciation fund. The moneys shall remain invested in the bonds until the board of hospital trustees determines the moneys shall be used for hospital purposes.

347A.2

Repealed by 81 Acts, ch 117, § 1097. See § 331.461(1).

347A.3 Tax for maintenance and operation.

If in any year, after payment of the accruing interest on and principal due of revenue bonds issued under chapter 331, division IV, part 4, and payable from the revenues derived from the operation of the county hospital, there is a balance of such revenues insufficient to pay the expenses of operation, maintenance, and funded depreciation of the hospital, the board of hospital trustees shall certify that fact as soon as ascertained to the board of supervisors of the county, and the board of supervisors shall make the amount of the deficiency for paying the expenses of operation, maintenance, and funded depreciation of the hospital available from other county funds or shall levy a tax not to exceed one dollar and eight cents per thousand dollars of assessed value in any one year on all the taxable property in the county in an amount sufficient for that purpose. However, general county funds or the proceeds of taxes shall not be used or applied to the payment of the interest on or principal of revenue bonds issued under chapter 331, division IV, part 4, but general county funds or proceeds of taxes may only be used and applied to pay expenses of operation, maintenance, and funded depreciation of the hospital which cannot be paid from available revenue derived from its operation.

A tax levied under this section for paying the expenses of operation, maintenance, and funded depreciation of a merged area hospital pursuant to the authority granted a merged area under section 145A.20, shall only be levied on the assessed value of property in that portion of a county which is part of the merged area, in accordance with the plan or merger established, approved, and implemented under sections 145A.3, 145A.4, 145A.5, and 145A.14.

347A.4

Repealed by 81 Acts, ch 117, § 1097.

347A.5 Discrimination prohibited.

The provisions of section 347.18 are made applicable to this chapter.

347A.6 Collection of accounts.

It shall be the duty of the hospital trustees either by themselves or through the superintendent or similar person to make collections of all accounts for hospital services. Such account shall be payable on presentation to the person liable thereby of an itemized statement and if not paid or secured within sixty days after such presentation the said trustees shall proceed to enforce collections by such means as are necessary and are authorized to employ any person for that purpose and, if legal proceedings are required, may employ counsel, the employment in either event to be on such arrangement for compensation as the hospital trustees deem appropriate.

347A.7

Repealed by 81 Acts, ch 117, § 1097. See § 331.441(2, 7).

347A.8

Repealed by 81 Acts, ch 117, § 1097.