Counties, Towns and Townships

Counties County: Created by the State Function varies region to region None in Connecticut and Rhode Island to 254 in Texas Louisiana they are called parishes Alaska they are called boroughs Function varies region to region Serve almost fully as judicial districts in the New England States In South and West, counties a the major units of government in rural areas

Governing Body Often called the county board, board of commissioners, police jury, fiscal court, county court, and board of chosen freeholders Members are often always popularly elected Terms run 1-8 years (most commonly 4 years) County boards can be grouped into two groups: Board of commissioners and Board of Supervisors Board of commissioners is the smaller and most common Commonly has 3-5 members some may have 7 or more Board of supervisors is much larger (15 members but can be 80)

The State constitution and the State legislature spell out the powers held by the county Usually both legislative (deal with finance, levying taxes, appropriating money, incurring limited debts) and executive Administrative functions-county road program, county property (court house, jail, hospital and parks) Responsible for hiring county employees and determining the pay

Functions of Counties Responsible for administering State laws as the State constitution and legislature allows Most counties remain rural even today Keep the peace, maintain the jails, collect taxes, spend county funds build and repair roads, bridges, drains, maintain schools Counties record deeds, mortgages, licenses, marriage licenses and other documents Administer elections and cares for the poor

Sheriff Runs the county jail; provides police protection in rural areas, carries out local court orders and often collects taxes Clerk Registers and records documents like deeds, mortgages, birth/death certificates; often runs county elections; secretary to the county board and clerk of local courts Assessor Appraises (sets the value of) taxable property in the county and collects county property taxes Treasurer Keeps county funds; makes payments from these funds Auditor Keeps financial records; authorizes payments for county expenses District Attorney Conducts criminal investigations; prosecutes criminal cases School Superintendent Administers public elementary and secondary schools in the county Coroner Investigates violent deaths; certifies causes of deaths not attended by a physician

The Need to Reform County organization can be chaotic Authority is divided among elected boards and officials This makes it hard to blame someone for inefficiency or inaction Large number of popularly elected officials make the counties ballots long The size and number of the counties in some States are also a weakness

One way State’s have tried to reform counties is through county home rule States allow some or all of their counties, to decide the details of their own government structure 37 States permit this, although the counties do not take advantage of it County-Manager (we have this here in Franklin County!) Like a city-manager

Towns and Townships Commonly found from New England to the Midwest In New England, towns are a major unit of local government Each town usually includes all of the rural and urban areas 1620-pilgrims landed at Plymouth rock Desire to be near the church, severe climate, and poor farm land led to closer communities

The town government is still similar to colonial times Town meetings- an assembly open to all of the town’s eligible voters Meets yearly, sometimes more often 3 member board who deals with roads, schools, care of the poor, and sanitation Officers are selected at town hall meetings: town clerk, tax assessor, tax collectors, a constable, road commissioners, and school board members**********

Townships In PA, townships were formed as areas were settled and people needed the services of a local government Governing body is a board of trustees or board of supervisors Serve 2-4 year terms Supervisor, clerk, treasurer, assessor, constable, justice of the peace, body of road commissioners Rural-handle roads, cemeteries, drainage, and minor law enforcement

Special Districts Special District- an independent unit created to perform one or more related governmental functions at the local level School districts are an example of special districts Found in rural and suburban areas Created to provide water, sewage, or electrical service and to build and maintain bridges, airports, swimming pools, libraries or parks

Generally an elected board Some special districts for soil conservation, housing, public transportation even for dogs or mosquito control Created out of the need to provide a service for either a wide or small area covered by a city or county Some formed because the local government could not or would not provide services Generally an elected board Power to lay taxes or charge fees, and spend and carry out its function