Cerro Gordo County

What Cerro Gordo County does

Cerro Gordo County is a statutory political subdivision of the State of Iowa, established January 15, 1851, that delivers mandated public services to approximately 43,070 residents across 10 incorporated communities and 16 townships in north-central Iowa. The county is governed by a three-member elected Board of Supervisors and operates through 16 functional departments covering property tax collection, motor vehicle registration, vital records and document recording, elections administration, property assessment, law enforcement and corrections, planning and zoning, public health, conservation and parks, emergency management, secondary roads and bridges, veteran affairs, and general assistance. Service delivery is supported by a conventional government enterprise technology stack including ArcGIS-powered GIS portals, Beacon/Schneider Corp for property search, Tyler Host and Cott Systems for document management, Municipal Online Payments and Iowa Treasurers for tax billing, Iowa Land Records for land documents, Alert Iowa for emergency notifications, and Microsoft Teams for remote public meeting participation. The county recently relaunched its official website in April 2024 to modernize digital resident access.

Revenue is generated through statutory fees and property tax levies rather than commercial sales. Key revenue streams include property taxes (semi-annual billing cycle with delinquency penalties), motor vehicle registration and title fees, document recording fees, building and zoning permits, passport application fees, public health service fees, and specialized programs such as the License Reinstatement Program operated jointly with Hancock County. The county maintains infrastructure assets including 267 miles of paved roads, 700 miles of gravel roads, 156 bridges, over 100 drainage districts, and 23 polling places. Operational reach is entirely domestic and constrained to the county's statutory jurisdiction, with no commercial customer base, no funding rounds, no equity ownership structure, and no M&A or investment activity. The organization is best characterized as a mature, stable public-sector service provider rather than a growth-stage commercial enterprise.

Name

Cerro Gordo County

Legal name

Cerro Gordo County, Iowa

Website

https://cerrogordo.gov

Company type

Private

Founded year

1851

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Cerro Gordo County is an Iowa county government established in 1851 that delivers mandated public services — property tax collection, elections, law enforcement, vital records, public health, conservation, and infrastructure maintenance — to approximately 43,070 residents across 10 communities and 16 townships in north-central Iowa.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

County Government Services

NAICS

Executive, Legislative, and Other General Government Support (921), Administration of Housing Programs, Urban Planning, and Community Development (925)

akta.pro primary industry

Planning, Zoning, Permitting & Code Enforcement (BPAIACAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Land Administration & Cadastral Services (Public Land Records, Parcel Management) (BPAIANAH), Road Maintenance, Grading & Seasonal Access Management (Snow/Ice) (AFAMAHAI)

Keywords

• County government services
• Property tax collection
• Vital records management
• Election administration
• Public safety services

Headquarters

HQ city

Mason City

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices7 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Property Tax Collection: The county collects property taxes which fund county operations, services, and infrastructure. Tax collection is administered through the County Treasurer's office with semiannual billing cycles.
2. Motor Vehicle Registration and Title Fees: Fees collected for vehicle registration, title transfers, and license plate services through the Treasurer's office
3. Document Recording Fees: Fees for recording legal documents, vital records (birth, death, marriage certificates), and property transfer documents through the Recorder's office
4. Building and Zoning Permits: Fees collected for zoning permits, building permits, special use permits, floodplain development permits, and subdivision applications
5. Passport Services: Fees for passport applications, passport books, passport cards, and passport photos processed through the Treasurer's office
6. Public Health Services Fees: Various public health services including permit applications for wells and wastewater systems
7. License Reinstatement Program: Program allowing residents to reinstate driver's licenses while making payments on outstanding court debt, recovering fines owed to the county

Pricing tiers

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Cerro Gordo County is a county government entity in Iowa that provides public administration services to residents and property owners. It administers property taxation, records vital records (births, deaths, marriages), conducts elections, issues permits, manages public safety, and maintains county infrastructure including roads and public records.

Product overview

Cerro Gordo County provides a comprehensive suite of government services through its various departments. The county operates as a single integrated government organization with no separate product portfolio—the 'products' are the essential public services delivered to residents. Key service areas include property tax collection and motor vehicle registration (Treasurer's Office), elections and voting administration (Auditor), law enforcement and jail services (Sheriff), GIS and mapping, document recording and vital records (Recorder), conservation and parks, planning and zoning, emergency management, and general assistance. Services are delivered through a combination of in-person office visits, online portals, and third-party integrated platforms. The county recently launched a new website in April 2024 to improve digital service delivery.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Property Tax Administration
• Vital Records Services
• Election Administration
• Passport Application Services
• Property Recording Services
• Public Safety Services
• Permit and Licensing Services
• Court Services

Quantifiable outcome

• Established 1851, serving residents for over 170 years
• +3 more outcomes

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration13 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• North Iowa License Reinstatement ProgramcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint program between Cerro Gordo County Attorney and Hancock County Attorney to assist residents of both counties with reinstating driver's licenses while paying outstanding court debt. The program helps residents achieve financial stability by allowing them to work while paying obligations.
• Iowa CourtscoreTechnology or IntegrationIntegration with Iowa Courts Online for case information, electronic case filing, jury duty coordination, and fine payments. Links provided for District Court services in Judicial District 2.
• Iowa Department of TransportationcoreTechnology or IntegrationIntegration for driver's license reinstatement, vehicle registration, title transfers, and voter registration (online through Iowa DOT).
• Iowa Land RecordscoreTechnology or IntegrationStatewide land records system (iowalandrecords.org) integrated with the County Recorder's Office for document recording and search capabilities.
• Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR)coreTechnology or IntegrationPartnership for hunting and fishing licenses through the Recorder's Office, and floodplain development permit review required before any construction in floodplains.
• National Weather Service (NOAA)coreTechnology or IntegrationEmergency Management coordinates with NOAA for weather alerts and preparedness information, linked through the Emergency Management department page.
• Clear Lake Sanitary DistrictcoreOthersSpecial district within Cerro Gordo County providing sanitary services. Listed under county elected officials with elected board members.
• North Iowa Corridor Economic DevelopmentminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional economic development partnership referenced for building and development resources in Mason City and Clear Lake.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Story County, Iowa: Mid-sized Iowa county (Ames/Nevada) delivering the same set of county government functions with a similar combination of property-tax funding, transaction fees, and state integrations. Directly comparable in scale, mandate, and operating model.
• Scott County, Iowa: Iowa county along the I-74/I-80 corridor (Davenport/Bettendorf) delivering the same mandated county service suite. Comparable in mandate and tech integrations (Iowa DOT, Iowa Courts, GIS) but with a larger population base.
• Polk County, Iowa: Largest Iowa county (Des Moines metro). Operates the same county government service portfolio with extensive digital services, providing a reference point for how Cerro Gordo's functions can scale with population and budget.
• Dubuque County, Iowa: Mid-sized Iowa county (Dubuque) providing the same county government services with comparable digital infrastructure and state integrations. Useful as a peer for service-mix and modernization benchmarking.
• Woodbury County, Iowa: Iowa county (Sioux City) offering the same county government service suite. Comparable in scale and rural/urban mix, providing a peer for benchmarking service delivery and infrastructure management.
• Linn County, Iowa: Larger Iowa county (Cedar Rapids) operating the full county government portfolio. Comparable service mix and digital integration model; useful as a scaled-up version of the same operating template Cerro Gordo runs.
• Black Hawk County, Iowa: Iowa county of comparable population size in the Cedar Falls/Waterloo area operating the same suite of mandated county services (Treasurer, Recorder, Sheriff, Planning & Zoning, Conservation, Public Health, Engineer). Highly comparable structure and service mix to Cerro Gordo.

Broad incumbents

• State of Iowa: Parent jurisdiction of Cerro Gordo County. Operates the statewide systems (Iowa DOT, Iowa Courts Online, Iowa Land Records, Iowa Treasurers) that the county integrates with for vehicle, court, land-records, and tax services—setting the regulatory and technology framework within which the county operates.

Others

• Schneider Geospatial: Vendor of the Beacon property-search platform used by Cerro Gordo for parcel lookup, ownership records, and valuation data. Comparable as the enabling technology layer for property-related county services.
• Tyler Technologies: Major govtech vendor whose Tyler Host platform is used by Cerro Gordo's Recorder for document management, and whose broader Odyssey/Appraisal/ERP suite is widely deployed across U.S. counties and municipalities as the underlying operating system for many county functions Cerro Gordo performs.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@CerroGordoCounty
• Facebookfacebook.com/pages/Clear-Lake-IA/City-of-Clear-Lake-Iowa/165769056786584
• Instagraminstagram.com/cityofmasoncity

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries20 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Cerro Gordo County