Description of County Offices
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Texas County Commissioner
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The county commissioners court serves as the
governing body in each of Texas’ 254 counties.
This administrative body was established by the
Texas Constitution of 1876 and is comprised of a
county judge and four commissioners. The major
duties of the commissioners court involves
overseeing the budgetary and policy making
functions of county government. In addition, in
many counties, commissioners have extensive
responsibilities related to the building and
maintenance of county roads.
Each county in Texas is divided into four
commissioners precincts with one commissioner
being directly elected by the voters of each
precinct to a four year term. Commissioners are
elected on staggered terms with two precincts
voting for the office of commissioner in each
general election. Precincts two and four of every
county elect commissioners the same year the
Texas gubernatorial election takes place while
precincts one and three elect their commissioners
in presidential election years. To be eligible to
run for a county commissioner seat, an individual
must be a qualified voter, a resident of that
precinct and have never been convicted of a
felony.
As the commissioners court meets to fulfill its
budgetary and administrative responsibilities,
each commissioner, along with the county judge,
participates in all the decisions and work of the
court. Passing a county budget is a major
undertaking for the commissioners court. During
the budget process, commissioners approve the
employment level of the county and consider the
level of funding necessary for the other county
offices to carry out their duties and
responsibilities. In addition to approving the
county budget, commissioners courts have other
financial responsibilities. The commissioners
court sets the county’s property tax rate and has
the authority to grant tax abatements for economic
development and authorize contracts in the name
of the county.
Beyond their budget duties, commissioners have
the responsibility of providing oversight of the
county’s infrastructure. They are responsible for
overseeing the construction, maintenance and
improvement of county roads and bridges,
establishing long-range thoroughfare, open space,
and land use plans, and acquiring property for
rights-of-way or other uses determined to be in
the public's best interest. Commissioners each
serve as the road and bridge administrator in their
precinct except in places where a county unit road
system has been adopted by local election. Other
responsibilities include reviewing and approving
subdivision platting and wastewater treatment for
rural areas. Some commissioners are also
responsible for providing rural ambulance
services and subsidizing rural fire protection.
Additional personnel and operating
responsibilities fall under the job duties of a
county commissioner. Some of these duties
include financial and law enforcement/jail needs
planning, establishing commissioners and justice
of the peace precinct boundaries, and setting
employment and benefit policies for the county.
Commissioners court may also call, conduct and
certify elections, including bond elections, and
appoint non-elected department heads and
standing committees.
Finally, as a member of the
commissioners court, a county commissioner may be called upon to fill vacancies in elective and
appointive positions in the county and supervise
and control the county courthouse, county
buildings and other county facilities.
In order to stay up to date on the latest changes in
state law affecting the operation of counties and to
acquire improved management techniques and
skills related to infrastructure maintenance,
commissioners are required to earn sixteen
classroom hours of continuing education annually
related to the performance of their duties.
Continuing education credits must be certified by
an accredited public institution of higher
education and commissioners may carry over up
to eight hours of continuing education credit into
the next year.
County commissioners have a broad range of
duties. From their positions on the county’s
policymaking body to their responsibility for
maintaining county roads and bridges, county
commissioners are very visible representatives in
county government.
Richard O. Avery, Director and Stacy D. Morris, Extension Program Specialist
V.G. Young Institute of County Government AgriLife Extension
December 2004 |
