In order to provide for the needs and services of state government.
It was found to divide the state into a subdivision.
These subdivisions are counties. One town and he called the county seat.
Because the county courthouse
and other county offices are located here.
These are the principal executive officers to be found
and nearly all called the administration.
Term of service are determined by state law.
The Board of Supervisors is the governing head of all college.
It is the duty of the board to supervise the various departments decide on matters
of policy and authorized contracts for public works.
Laws that conflict with the National Constitution or with state laws.
It may be local ordinances and determine matter.
Of local policy boards in some counties appoint a trained executive to
handle all details of coordinating the various county functions in his duties are
to promote harmony increase efficiency reduce costs
and to generally promote better business practices.
This it will Service Commission is established by law to provide a more efficient
method of hiring personnel for governmental jobs
and also to provide the employees with a protection against changing administration
the Civil Service uses a merit system to select people for employment on the basis
of qualifications which they indicate in competitive examinations advancement is
attained by promotional examinations which are also competitive.
The various county appointed positions are classified by civil service
and persons are given tests which concern the kind of work they will do.
Those with the highest scores are placed at the top of the list
and vacancies are failed from the top down
the sheriff is the chief law enforcement officer of the county.
Is primary duty is to provide police protection in unincorporated and rural areas.
The number of deputies under his command will vary with the size of the county.
And the population.
The sheriff is in charge of the county jail in the custody of prisoners many
counties maintain work farms where prisoners may serve their sentences at farm work
and other similar activities this type of project has proven beneficial to
prisoners and profitable to the county in the modern.
Sheriff's Office is equipped with two way radio criminal identification records
including fingerprints photos and jail records.
The sheriff is also responsible for prisoners appearing in court for trial
and the delivery of convicted prisoners to state prisons.
The sheriff's office supplies each county court with a deputy to act as bailiff it
is a bailiff duty to maintain order call witnesses
and to assist the court.
The county courts are variously referred to as superior courts district courts
or circuit courts these courts are fundamentally units of the state
and are used for the prosecution of felony divorces
and unknown proceedings settlement of us think you've been all cases including
adoption psychopathic hearings
and certain types of civil suits in some counties the judges are elected in others
they are appointed by the governor the court clerk swears in all persons called to
the witness stand. He also keeps a record of all court business
and attends to issuing summons and subpoenas
and the selection of juries court clerks are provided to the courts.
By the county clerk's office.
The district attorney is the public prosecutor in behalf of the state
and also serves as a legal advisor to the county.
He has assistants
and deputies to handle the various activities required of his office the deputies
are required to be attorneys
as legal advisor the district attorney's office represents the county
and suits arising from contract disputes the obtaining of last.
And for county use
and various other civil actions as public prosecutor it is the responsibility of
the district attorney's office to prosecute any person who commits a crime within
the county.
The office of public defender is maintained to provide legal assistance to persons
who are charged with crimes
and are unable to afford the services of an attorney to represent them in court.
Many counties provide a law library where attorneys judges on the general public
may make use of the vast number of books on all types of laws
and legal procedures.
The coroner is responsible for determining the cause of death
when the circumstances are more
or less mysterious for the cause I know a thorough examination of the deceased is
then performed by a surgeon this examination is called an autopsy.
The results of this autopsy
and other known facts are presented at an inquest for hearing from these facts can
be determined whether criminal proceedings should be started
the county clerk's office in addition to providing the clerk for the Superior
Courts also acts as clerk of the Board of Supervisors
these duties consist of keeping the minutes preparing resolutions receive
and file petitions keep a record of all ordinances.
Adopted by the board
and published public notices the county
clerk's office a few Is marriage licenses filed incorporation papers issues
certificates of notary public and registers medical dental
and optometry certificates.
The county clerk is in charge of the registration of all eligible voters within the
county.
He also prepares the ballots arranges for the precinct voting place personnel
and is responsible for the safekeeping of ballots
and precinct voting tallies.
The office of recorder was established to provide a means of recording all sales of
real estate within the county IT service has been expanded to include all manner of
legal transactions as well as vital statistics such as birth
and death records
when documents are presented for recording they are stamped with the time of day
the date and are given a serial number.
The legality of a transaction may depend on who filed a document.
First the
document is given a title for index purposes
and is listed in a master index volume so
that the photographic copy may be instantly made available
the photocopies are made on huge automatic machines
that photograph both sides of the documents
and develop them within a matter of minutes.
The original document is.
Turn to the owner and the copies are bound in volumes
that become a permanent record formerly
the work of county surveyor consisted of surveying the alignment of new roads
and establishing property lines the work of the
surveyor is much more technical now
and requires the additional services of a civil engineer as well as construction
and maintenance personnel.
The office of surveyor and engineer prepares plans for new roads
and bridges designs
and builds drainage structures supervises all county construction projects
maintains the county roads
and furnishes engineering advice to all departments.
A Planning Commission is a recent addition to county administration.
It is composed of several appointed members each representing a different section
of the county.
Their duties are a future planning for the best usage of land within the county can
straighten out conflicting interests of property owners
and to provide adequate zoning ordinances.
The County Agricultural Department is responsible for maintaining
and enforcing standards of quality for all farm products.
It is also the department's responsibility to prevent the introduction
and spread of injurious weeds
and insects nursery
and seed inspection pest surveys
and preparation of agricultural statistics are also part of the Agricultural
Department the Department of Weights
and Measures renders a service to the public by inspecting for accuracy.
Every weighing
or measuring instrument used for business within the county.
All devices that are used to determine units of solid
or liquid for sale must bear the seal of the department of Weights
and Measures.
The county superintendent of schools is in charge of all schools within the county
except those in the city limits.
The days of the little one room school house with one teacher for all classes are
rapidly disappearing.
With a centralised supply source it is now possible for even the smallest school to
enjoy all the teaching aids an advantage is formally available only to city schools.
Good roads
and safe fast transportation have allowed rural schools to grow larger in size.
Thus providing better educational opportunities library facilities are made
available to rural areas through branch libraries in small communities
some counties provide a mobile library unit called a bookmobile which makes a
regular schedule of stops to serve farm areas
the care of the sick
and the poor is another county function the welfare commission administers federal
state and county aid to needy aged needy blind needy children
and handles all phases of relief within the county.
To carry on this work an enormous amount of research
and paperwork is involved records a relief a.
Case history files and many other types of records
and cross files are maintained the
welfare department also supervises the placement of children in foster homes
and administers the adoption program under state supervision the licensing of
boarding homes for needy children
and the aged is another welfare service the
health department is responsible for enforcing adequate sanitation majors
inspection of water supplies and eating establishments
and checking the spread of communicable diseases the
services of the public health nurses are available without cost to anyone in the
county who needs assistance in caring for any contagious disease.
Nearly all counties maintain and operate one
or more hospitals for the care of emergency cases and the treatment of the sick
and injured who cannot afford hospital care
funds to maintain
and operate county government are procured through property taxes.
The county assessor determines the value of all property within the county.
This is called assessing the uses thousands of detailed maps which are catalog
according to area
and bound in two volumes the maps show the exact size of the land each taxpayer
owns and indicates the value of the improvements in the form of buildings
and homes to
evaluate each properties worth deputy assessors measure the size of the buildings
and note the type of.
This evaluation determines the amount of taxes each property owner must pay.
If a property owner feels
that he has been unjustly assessed compared to other owners in his own locality.
He may appeal his case to the Board of Supervisors.
The collection of taxes is handled by the Treasurer's office through the tax
collector mails are mailed to the tax payers on a deadline for payment is set
delinquent tax bills are subject to financial penalties.
The Treasurer is required to place all money received in banks paying the highest
rate of interest
the Treasurer may pay out funds only when authorized by the Board of Supervisors
and signed for by the other to the duties of the auditor
which in some counties are performed by the county clerk are to care for the
bookkeeping details of all county offices.
He inspects finance accounts
and authorizes payments from the Treasury he prepares
and publishes the financial statements operates the payroll system
and is responsible for the payment of all claims against the county.
Electing a separate head for each department.
Although still widely practiced is proving an satisfactory for modern county
government an elected official is responsible to the electorate only
and the degree of cooperation he gives other departments is entirely up to the
individual. A few of the county offices can be well. Served by elected officials.
These are departments that are primarily state functions
or are paid partly by state funds
and partly by county funds.
By placing all departments are county functions under the control of the Board of
Supervisors.
Greater efficiency is a key department heads can be selected for outstanding
ability in their particular field.
The responsibility then rests with the Board of Supervisors to see
that the county government operates the fishing place the greatest responsibility
rests with We the people to take an active interest in our various governmental
agencies and to make sure we elect sincere able men to represent us.