How Counties Work
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History of Coun- Counties by State ty Government Consol. State Counties Govts Counties trace their roots to Alabama.....................................67.............................0 Revised August 2003 Revised the English shire of a thousand years Alaska........................................13.............................3 ago. Serving a dual function, the shire Arizona ......................................15.............................0 acted as the administrative arm of the Arkansas ...................................75.............................0 national government as well as the California...................................57.............................1 Colorado....................................62.............................2 citizen’s local government. The struc- Connecticut.................................0.............................0 tural form of the shire was adopted along Delaware......................................3.............................0 the eastern seaboard of North America Florida........................................66.............................1 by the colonists and adapted to suit the Georgia....................................155.............................4 of County Government diverse economic and geographic needs Hawaii ..........................................3.............................1 of each of the colonies. Idaho..........................................44.............................0 When our national government was Illinois ......................................102.............................0 formed, the framers of the Constitution did Indiana.......................................91.............................1 Iowa............................................99.............................0 not provide for local governments. Rather, Kansas.....................................104.............................1 they left the matter to the states. Subse- Kentucky ................................. 118.............................2 quently, early state constitutions generally Louisiana...................................60.............................4 conceptualized county government as an Maine .........................................16.............................0 arm of the state. Maryland....................................23.............................0 After World War I, population growth, Massachusetts............................6.............................1 and suburban development, the govern- Michigan....................................83.............................0 Minnesota..................................87.............................0 ment reform movement strengthened the Mississippi ................................82.............................0 role of local governments. Those devel- Missouri................................... 114.............................0 opments set the stage for post World War II Montana.....................................54.............................2 urbanization. Changes in structure, greater Nebraska ...................................93.............................0 autonomy from the states, rising revenues, Nevada.......................................16.............................1 and stronger political accountability ush- New Hampshire.........................10.............................0 ered in a new era for county government. New Jersey................................21.............................0 New Mexico...............................33.............................0 The counties began providing an ever New York ...................................57.............................1 widening range of services. These trends North Carolina.........................100.............................0 continue apace today. North Dakota.............................53.............................0 Ohio ..........................................88.............................0 Oklahoma .................................77.............................0 County Oregon.......................................36.............................0 Pennsylvania.............................66.............................1 Characteristics Rhode Island...............................0.............................0 South Carolina..........................46.............................0 South Dakota ............................66.............................0 Forty-eight of the fifty states have op- Tennessee .................................92.............................3 erational county governments. Alaska and Texas........................................254.............................0 Utah............................................29.............................0 Louisiana call their county type govern- Vermont .....................................14.............................0 ments boroughs and parishes, respectively. Virginia ......................................95.............................5 Connecticut and Rhode Island are divided Washington...............................39.............................0 into geographic regions called counties, West Virginia.............................55.............................0 but they do not have functioning govern- Wisconsin..................................72.............................0 ments, as defined by the Census Bureau. Wyoming ...................................23.............................0 Hawaii and Delaware each have the few- est counties (3); Texas has the most (254). In Total .....................................3,034...........................34 addition to the 3,033 counties, there are 33 city-county governments (i.e., cities that have A Brief A consolidated government functions with their surrounding counties). Jacksonville/Duval, City/County are examples of this type of government structure. OVERVIEW Counties vary greatly in size and population. They range in area from 26 to 87,860 square miles (i.e., Arlington Basic Forms of County, Virginia and the North Slope, Alaska). Similarly, the population of County Government counties varies tremendously from Lov- There are three basic forms of Commission/Administrator ing County, Texas, with its 67 residents, county government. Under all three, Under this form, the county board of to Los Angeles County, California, which many administrative responsibilities are commissioners appoints an administrator is home to 9,519,338 people. vested by state constitution or statute to who serves at its pleasure. That individual Counties with populations under independently elected row officers (e.g., may be vested with a broad range of pow- 50,000 accounted for nearly three-fourths clerk, coroner, sheriff, and treasurer). ers, including the authority to hire/fire de- of all county governments in 2000. partment heads and formulate a budget. Commission The distinguishing feature of Council-Executive The Many Hats this type of structure is the fact that The separation of powers of County legislative authority (e.g., power to principle undergirds this governnance enact ordinances and adopt budgets) system. A county executive is the Government and executive powers (e.g., to chief administrative officer of the administer policies and appoint county jurisdiction. Typically, he/she has the employees) are exercised jointly by authority to veto ordinances enacted Traditionally, counties performed state an elected commission or board of by the county board (subject to mandated duties which included assessment supervisors. their possible override) and hire/fire of property, record keeping (e.g., property Although governing body department heads. and vital statistics), maintenance of rural members are most frequently called Although a majority of counties still roads, administration of election and judicial commissioners or supervisors, operate under the commission form, more functions, and poor relief. Today, counties these are not universal titles. Many than 40 percent have shifted to either the rapidly are moving into other areas, under- governing body members in Louisiana, county administrator or the elected taking programs relating to child welfare, for example, are called parish police executive type. State policy-makers have consumer protection, economic development, jurors. The county governing body in contributed to this trend, as Arkansas, employment/training, planning and zoning, most New Jersey counties is the board Kentucky, and Tennessee now mandate and water quality, to name just a few. of chosen freeholders. that counties in those states be headed by Service delivery responsibilities, an elected executive. however, vary widely among counties. For most, constructing/ maintaining local roads per capita on public welfare and $747.35 most important revenue source for coun- is one of their prime duties. North Carolina on hospitals/health care for its residents ties, reporting 30.6% of general revenue Counties, however, have no responsibilities in FY 1991- 1992. It registered no spend- funds. The sales tax is the second most in this area. Wide variations also exist in ing, however, for sewage treatment. Kent significant revenue source for counties, the social service responsibilities and the County, Delaware spent $78.78 per capita with counties reporting collecting 14% types of utility services (e.g., water supply) on that activity, but nothing on welfare and of the general fund from this tax. provided by county governments. hospitals/health during the period. The following states with a state sales