County commission

A county commission (or a board of county commissioners) is a group of elected officials (county commissioners) collectively charged with administering the county government in some states of the United States. A county usually has three to five members of the county commission. In some counties within Georgia a sole commissioner holds the authority of the commission.

In parts of the United States, alternative terms such as county board of supervisors or county council may be used in lieu of, but generally synonymous to, a county commission. However, in some jurisdictions there may be distinct differences between a county commission and other similarly titled bodies. For example, a county council may differ from a county commission by containing more members or by having a council-manager form of government. In Indiana, every county, except Marion County which is consolidated with the city of Indianapolis, has both a county commission and a county council, with the county commission having administrative authority and the county council being responsible for fiscal matters.

Each commission acts as the executive of the local government, levying local taxes, administering county governmental services such as correctional institutions, courts, public health oversight, property registration, building code enforcement, and public works (e.g. road maintenance). The system has been supplanted in large part, as disparate sparsely settled regions become urbanized and establish tighter local governmental control, usually in municipalities, though in many of the more rural states, the county commission retains more control, and even in some urbanized areas, may be responsible for significant government services.

Various counties nationwide have explored expanding from three members to five.

History

Origin

William Penn, colonial founder of Pennsylvania originated the system of county commissions in the United States.

On February 28, 1681, King Charles II of England granted a charter for a proprietary colony to William Penn to repay a debt of £16,000 (around £2,100,000 in 2008 currency, adjusting for retail inflation) owed to William's father, Admiral William Penn. This was one of the largest land grants to one individual ever made in history. Penn established a local colonial government with two innovations that were copied by other colonies in the British America: the county commission, and freedom of religious conviction.

Spread and development

As local governments were established on the frontier, the growth of township governments provided services more efficiently to rural areas than the county government. These townships were led by an elected leader called a Supervisor.

Several states replaced the directly elected County Commission with a representative system of the Supervisors of the townships. These became known as the Board of Supervisors. Western States started using this title for their county boards even when they are directly elected like a traditional commission.

New Jersey previously referred to county commissioners as freeholders, but its practice ended in 2021.

County boards by state

See also

• County board of supervisors
• County council
• County executive

References and footnotes