Miller v. Marshall County

CADY, Justice.

Under Iowa’s county home rule statute, a county is not authorized to lease real property when the lease payments are to be made payable from the general fund without first giving notice of the public’s right to petition for a referendum if the principal amount of the lease exceeds certain limits based on the population of the county. See Iowa Code § 331.301(10)(e)(1), (2) (1993). This appeal requires us to decide if this statute authorizes a county to enter into a lease of real property without first following the petition procedures when the principal amount of the lease over…