The commissioners court conducts the general business of the county and consists of the county judge and four commissioners. Please note: Some duties performed by officials may vary within individual counties. Commissioners are required to attain 16 hours every month period and may carry forward up to eight hours. Some exceptions apply. See the full continuing education requirements and more. A County Commissioner must meet the following qualifications at the time of appointment or election:.
For more information, see the Secretary of State Elections Division website. Texas Association of Counties. These positions have different titles, including county administrator, chief administrative officer, administrative services director, or budget director.
Although the responsibilities may vary, the people serving in these positions work on a daily basis with the commissioners and the other elected and appointed officials to carry out the policy directions of the board, to supervise departments under the board, and to coordinate the work of the other officials and staff. Commissioners are authorized and required to make policy for the county.
Policy-making means defining high-level goals and long-range outcomes for county government. This includes choosing the direction, identifying the ways and the means to achieve desired outcomes, and guiding the decision-making process leading to these outcomes. County policies will have an impact on the lives of its citizens, and for that reason, those citizens expect county commissioners to influence the direction of county government.
Policy-making is far more art than science. Policy-making describes outcomes while administration describes how ideas are realized. How to do this varies greatly from county to county and from board to board.
Commissioners are directly responsible for the first two or three of these elements and there are opportunities throughout for the involvement of stakeholders. Washington state law requires the board of county commissioners to adopt a budget annually or biannually, if the county opts for a biennial budget.
The county will only do the work that has been authorized in the annual budget. Conversely, nothing that commissioners refuse to pay for will get done.
The most basic definition of policy is: "What you do. Commissioners also provide overall organizational leadership and are expected to create paths to better management. The budget is also a management tool; it is the only mechanism for managing the many activities of county government concurrently.
This comprehensive document sets the limits on spending for each and every program and department in the organization. The only way to see the complex relationship of all the moving parts that compose a county is through its budget. The statutory deadlines for the county budget process culminate with a public hearing and budget adoption in October.
However, RCW Most counties use this alternative budget process. The county budget cycle typically starts with a request to all elected officials and department managers for budget proposals and supporting revenues, with the county clerk developing an estimate of tax revenues for the next year.
Additional steps in the budget cycle are approximately as follows. In theory, broad goals are developed by the board early on as the framework for the annual budget process. In reality, most budget decisions continue previously set policies or confirm policies adopted at other government levels. Decisions to set new policies are typically incremental and at the margins of the entire budget since the vast majority of budgets are already committed to baseline activities and mandates.
Department heads, elected officials, and community groups often come to the board of commissioners with unforeseen financial needs during the budget year. Isolated spending requests are difficult to link with spending priorities that were reviewed and approved during the formal, budget-development process.
For this reason, commissioners should be sparing with budget promises and appropriate some set-aside for emergent issues. Commissioners should also aggregate emergent requests into quarterly or annual supplemental budgets to let everyone know that county money is limited and the timing is not immediate. The complex fund structure of counties makes the overall weighing of priorities more difficult. There may be as many as or more separate funds, most of which are dedicated for specific purposes.
Generally the county auditor or financial manager will have a copy. Finally, in developing long-term financial goals and policies, consider using the county finance committee for recommendations.
As established by RCW It can also be a creative vehicle for the development of other important financial policies that keep the county financially sound.
Setting environmental and land use policy is another challenging issue area for county commissioners, especially since the passage of the Growth Management Act GMA in To be effective, commissioners should have a broad understanding of land use issues, especially those working in mid-size to larger counties with urbanized areas.
These commissioners spend a great deal of time devoted to land use policy. Citizen participation is encouraged in shaping land use policies under the GMA and a good portion of constituent input is on environmental and land use issues.
Because land use policy have been brought to the forefront with the GMA, it is likely to remain a difficult area for commissioners to find community consensus. The civil staff of the prosecuting attorney's office is usually assigned to assist in land use matters. An informed and trusted legal adviser is one of a new county commissioner's best assets. The county prosecutor is the legal adviser to the board. Seven commissioners are elected from single-member districts to staggered four-year terms to represent the entire county.
The Board of County Commissioners generally meets on the first and third Tuesday of each month for public hearings and regular agenda items. During the first meeting of the month, with the exception of January and August, citizens may offer comments on any issue or topic during Matters by the Public. Workshops are usually held on the fourth Tuesday of the month. E-mail Commissioner Sachs Toll Free: The county administrator has executive powers to implement the policies and procedures set forth by the Board of County Commissioners.
Together, they must work in concert to provide quality services, programs and information to the residents of Palm Beach County. Supervising the day-to-day workings of one of the geographically largest counties in the nation is extremely challenging. That duty has been entrusted to Verdenia C. You may be trying to access this site from a secured browser on the server.
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