Tom Horst
Commissioner
Commissioner
Commissioner Duties
The responsibilities of County Elected Officials are established by the Ohio
General Assembly, and duties of the Commissioners are defined in depth in
the Ohio Revised Code (ORC), Chapters 305 and 307. The Ohio County
Commissioners Association publishes a Handbook summarizing the duties of
the County Commissioner. http://www.ccao.org
Good representation of Highland County requires leadership capability, a
strong sense of business acumen, listening to citizenry, and the ability to
achieve consensus to effectively address the needs and improve the county.
All Ohio counties organized under the general statutory law (87) 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 positions (ORC 305.01).
Commissioners must hold 50 regular meetings per year (ORC 305.06) and as
many special meetings as necessary to conduct the county 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 Assemble 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 of 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 member to 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 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 the 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 of priority issues to improve the
county.
General Assembly, and duties of the Commissioners are defined in depth in
the Ohio Revised Code (ORC), Chapters 305 and 307. The Ohio County
Commissioners Association publishes a Handbook summarizing the duties of
the County Commissioner. http://www.ccao.org
Good representation of Highland County requires leadership capability, a
strong sense of business acumen, listening to citizenry, and the ability to
achieve consensus to effectively address the needs and improve the county.
All Ohio counties organized under the general statutory law (87) 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 positions (ORC 305.01).
Commissioners must hold 50 regular meetings per year (ORC 305.06) and as
many special meetings as necessary to conduct the county 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 Assemble 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 of 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 member to 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 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 the 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 of priority issues to improve the
county.
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Leadership
You Can Trust
You Can Trust