231.24 - CERTIFIED RETIREMENT COMMUNITIES.
231.24 CERTIFIED RETIREMENT COMMUNITIES.
1. Program purpose.
a. The department shall establish a certified retirement
communities program to recognize communities in the state that have
made themselves attractive destinations for retirees.
b. The purposes of the program shall be to encourage retirees
to make their home in Iowa, to help communities promote and market
themselves as retirement destinations for retirees, to assist the
economic development of rural communities by encouraging retirees to
live, work, and volunteer there, and to encourage tourism in Iowa by
enhancing the marketing of the state to retirees everywhere.
2. Program fund.
a. A certified retirement communities fund is created in the
general fund of the state under the control of the department
consisting of fees collected from applicants to the certified
retirement communities program.
b. Moneys in the fund are appropriated to the department for
purposes of administering the certified retirement communities
program.
c. Moneys in the fund are not subject to section 8.33.
Notwithstanding section 12C.7, interest or earnings on moneys in the
fund shall be credited to the fund.
3. Eligibility.
a. A community in the state is eligible to be named a
certified retirement community. For purposes of this section,
"community" includes but is not limited to a city, county,
region, neighborhood, or district. For purposes of this section, a
community can, but need not, be coterminous with a political
subdivision of the state or with a particular geographic boundary.
In an application for recognition as a certified retirement
community, the applicant shall clearly articulate how the applicant
defines community for purposes of seeking certification.
b. The department is encouraged to collaborate with the Iowa
cooperative extension service in agriculture and home economics at
Iowa state university of science and technology in the development of
an outreach program to assist communities seeking certification.
4. Applications. Each community seeking certification shall
meet the following requirements:
a. The community shall submit an application to the
department containing basic demographic and statistical information
including crime statistics, tax-related information, recreational
opportunities, housing prices and availability, health care and
emergency medical service availability, and other factors deemed
relevant by the department.
b. The community shall demonstrate the support and active
involvement of the local governing body, churches, clubs, businesses,
media outlets, or other entities with an interest in the future of
the community.
c. The community shall submit with the application a plan
describing the community's long-term care facility and service
capabilities and the community's strategy for marketing the community
to retirees. The plan shall include a target market, a list of
competing communities, an analysis of the community's strengths,
weaknesses, opportunities, and dangers, and the steps the community
will employ to achieve the goals of the plan.
d. The department may determine and collect a reasonable
application fee for the program.
5. Application review.
a. The department shall accept and review applications for
certification and determine which communities qualify for
certification.
b. In determining which communities qualify, the department
shall develop a set of criteria for evaluating and scoring the
applicants and comparing each applicant against the other applicants.
The criteria developed by the department shall include all of the
following:
(1) The competitiveness of the tax burden on residents in the
community.
(2) Housing availability and cost.
(3) Climatic factors.
(4) Personal and community safety.
(5) Work, volunteer, and community service opportunities.
(6) Health care and emergency medical services available to
residents of the community.
(7) Public transportation and transportation infrastructure.
(8) Educational quality and opportunities.
(9) Recreational and leisure opportunities.
(10) The availability of cultural and performing arts, sporting
events, festivals, and other activities.
(11) The availability of services and facilities necessary to
assist retirees as they age.
6. Recognition and assistance. If the department determines
that a community qualifies for certification, the department shall
issue to the community a certificate recognizing the status of the
community as an attractive destination for retirees.
7. Expiration and recertification.
a. A community's certification expires on the fifth
anniversary of the date of initial certification.
b. To be recertified, a community must submit a new
application as described in subsection 4 and include a report on the
success or failure of the community's past efforts to market itself
to retirees.
8. Rules. The department shall adopt rules for the
administration of this section.
9. Program administration deferral. If in the fiscal year
beginning July 1, 2009, the department on aging's appropriations or
authorized full-time equivalent positions are reduced, the department
may defer the implementation of the certified retirement communities
program until such time as the department has the resources to
administer the program. Section History: Recent Form
2009 Acts, ch 152, §1