County Commission Texas Historical Marker Brenham

A county commission (or a board of county commissioners) is a group of elected officials (county commissioners) collectively charged with administering the

county government A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) ''Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denotin ...

in some

states State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

of the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. A county usually has three to five members of the county commission. In some counties within

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

sole commissioner In local government in the United States, sole commissioner government is a county commission with only one seat. The sole commissioner typically holds all legislative and executive powers in the county. Even though with one commissioner there is ...

holds the authority of the commission. In parts of the United States, alternative terms such as county board of supervisors or

county council A county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries. Australia In the Australian state of New South Wales, county councils are special purpose ...

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 Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

, every county, except Marion County which is consolidated with the city of

Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

, 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 Executive ( exe., exec., execu.) may refer to: Role or title * Executive, a senior management role in an organization ** Chief executive officer (CEO), one of the highest-ranking corporate officers (executives) or administrators ** Executive dir ...

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 Public works are a broad category of infrastructure projects, financed and procured by a government body for recreational, employment, and health and safety uses in the greater community. They include public buildings ( municipal buildings, ...

(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 A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

, 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

William Penn William Penn ( – ) was an English writer, religious thinker, and influential Quakers, Quaker who founded the Province of Pennsylvania during the British colonization of the Americas, British colonial era. An advocate of democracy and religi ...

, colonial founder of Pennsylvania originated the system of county commissions in the United States. On February 28, 1681, King

Charles II of England Charles II (29 May 1630 – 6 February 1685) was King of Scotland from 1649 until 1651 and King of England, Scotland, and King of Ireland, Ireland from the 1660 Restoration of the monarchy until his death in 1685. Charles II was the eldest su ...

granted a charter for a

proprietary colony Proprietary colonies were a type of colony in English America which existed during the early modern period. In English overseas possessions established from the 17th century onwards, all land in the colonies belonged to the Crown, which held ul ...

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

. 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 British America collectively refers to various British colonization of the Americas, colonies of Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and its predecessors states in the Americas prior to the conclusion of the American Revolutionary War in 1 ...

: the county commission, and freedom of religious conviction.

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

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

By state

* Board of County Commissioners (New Jersey; formerly known as the Board of Chosen Freeholders) * Board of County Commissioners (Ohio) *

Commissioners' Court Commissioners' court, or in Arkansas a quorum court, is the governing body of county government in three US states: Arkansas, Texas and Missouri. It is similar in function to a board of county commissioners. A similar system was in place in the ...

(Texas and Missouri; identical concept known in Arkansas as "Quorum Court") *

Fiscal Court In the U.S. State of Kentucky, the legislative body of List of counties in Kentucky, each county is known as the Fiscal Court. Each court consists of the County judge/executive; and either three to eight magistrates elected from individual distric ...

(Kentucky) * Police Jury (Louisiana) *

Sole commissioner In local government in the United States, sole commissioner government is a county commission with only one seat. The sole commissioner typically holds all legislative and executive powers in the county. Even though with one commissioner there is ...

(some counties in Georgia) * County Commission (Montana)

References and footnotes

{{reflist County governing bodies in the United States

History

By state

See also

References and footnotes