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INTRODUCTION
County government predates statehood. Indeed, by
the time Ohio was admitted to the Union in 1803, nine counties had been
established under the provisions of the Northwest Ordinance of 1787.
Washington County was Ohio's first county, established in 1788. Ohio now
contains 88 county governments.
The roots of county government can be traced back
as far as 603 AD to an area of Southern England where the King divided
the land into "shires". Shires were controlled by the monarchy
who appointed a local governing official. The term shire was used until
the 15th century when the term "county" was adopted. County
government evolved in England over several centuries and was brought to
the United States with the English colonizers. American independence
fostered various changes to American government, including the
strengthening of state governments and a more defined role for counties.
Yet, the Saxon influence is still evident in county government today.
The Ohio Constitution provides authority for the
organization and governance of counties. The General Assembly has
no authority to provide separate forms of government for individual
counties.
Board of County Commissioners - ORC
Chapters 305 and 307
All Ohio counties organized under the general
statutory law have three county commissioners, two being elected at the
time of the presidential election and one at the time of the
gubernatorial election. The county commissioner elected at the
gubernatorial election takes office on January 1st, and the two elected
at the presidential election take office on January 2nd and 3rd.
Candidates for these two commissioner positions must file for either the
January 2 or 3 position (ORC 305.01).
The organizational meeting of the board of county
commissioners occurs on the second Monday of January each year by the
election of one of its members as president (ORC 305.05). The commission
must hold 50 regular meetings per year (ORC 305.06) and as many special
meetings as necessary to conduct their business (ORC 305.07).
County commissioners make up the general
administrative body for county government. As indicated above, they can
perform those duties which are specifically authorized by the General
Assembly and no more. They are the county government taxing, budgeting,
appropriating, and purchasing authority. They hold title to county
property. Individual commissioners have no power to act independently.
All formal and official actions must be taken by the board of county
commissioners acting as a body by majority or unanimous vote.
Commissioners also have a myriad of other
responsibilities including hearing and ruling on annexations, approving
drainage improvements through the petition ditch process, establishing
water and sewer districts and making improvements, and providing for
solid waste disposal.
Commissioners also appoint department heads of
offices for which they have responsibility and also appoint members to a
variety of boards and commissions, and also serve on some boards such as
the board of revision, the county records commission, and the planning
commission.
Commissioners must work with all other county
elected officials and with judges to assure that they are properly
funded to perform their statutory duties.
But it is the non-statutory duties of county
commissioners that make them different from other county elected
officials. By necessity, county commissioners must take a broad view of
actions necessary to make the county a better place to live and work.
Many commissioners are thus active in promoting public/private
partnerships in human services, economic development, health, and
infrastructure development. Other commissioners take an active role in
improving the environment, promoting job training programs, and
improving agriculture in their counties.
County commissioners must be astute and have good
business sense. Perhaps the most important attribute of a county
commissioner is the ability to lead, to listen to the needs of the
citizens and other elected officials, to compromise, and to develop a
consensus on priority issues to improve the county.
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