Unitary

Established by state constitution and the legislature

Why established?

General purpose government

Administrative arm of the state government

Minimal supervision from the state

Detailed organization listed in constitution

"Counties are children of convenience"

Less flexible than a municipality

No home rule counties

Home-rule adopted in 1933

Repealed in 1969

State legislature must enact all changes to county government

Every session has a number of bills for particular counties

What do county governments do?

Administer county, state and national elections

Law enforcement - county sheriff

Registering births, deaths, and marriages

Housing state district courts

Registering motor vehicles

Recording land titles and deeds

Collecting some state taxes and fees

Imagine having to go to Austin to do all of this stuff

Counties are more convenient

Counties have some optional functions

May have higher tax rates to fund these services

Clear evidence of lack of flexibility

Most county officials are elected

Each has his or her own constituency

Don't always have to work together

Commissioners Court

Governing body

County judge and four commissioners

Not a judicial court

Limited legislature

Approves budget for county functions

Has no authority over the elected county sheriff

Approves the sheriff's budget, however

Sheriff is responsible to voters

Dependent on commissioners for funding

(Constitutional) County Judge

Four-year term

Elected at-large

May have judicial functions

In large counties, he or she doesn't

Fills vacancies on commissioners court

Prepares county budget

Approved by court

Oversees elections

Appoints members to county boards

Can perform marriage ceremonies

Can issue arrest warrants and hold preliminary hearings in criminal proceedings

County Commissioners - 4

Elected for four-year terms

Elected from precincts of equal size

Precincts will change after 2000 Census

Responsible for roads and bridges

County engineer in some counties

Randall has a Road Superintendent

County Sheriff

Law enforcement officer in the county

Elected at-large for a four year term

Has a relatively large budget and staff

Enforce state law within the county

Can work in municipalities

Cause jurisdictional issues

Usually patrol the unincorporated areas in the county

Operates county jail

Process server

In small counties, also tax assessor and collector

Constables

Elected by justice of the peace precincts

Process officers of the justice of the peace courts

Required by state constitution

Tax Assessor-Collector

Elected at-large

Collects county taxes and fees

Collects state taxes and fees

Voter registrar

Assesses property for ad valorem taxes

County Treasurer

Receives, deposits, and disburses funds

Required by constitution

State legislature may abolish the office in specific counties

Transfer the duties to another officer

County Auditor

Reviews the financial records and countersigns checks

Ensures that expenditures are made lawfully

In large counties, prepares the budget

County Clerk

Elected at large

Chief recordkeeper and election officer

Maintains records for commissioners court

Maintains records for other courts

Records deeds, mortgages, wills and issues marriage licenses

Keeps birth and death records

District Clerk

In counties over 8,000 population

Maintains district court records

County Attorney and/or District Attorney

Prosecutes criminal cases

Advises county officers on legal matters

Represents county in civil proceedings

Issues in County Government

Counties are restricted by state constitution

Cannot react to problems specific to an individual county

Must get legislature to make changes

Long Ballot

Number of county officers are elected

Makes coordination difficult

County commissioners would like more appointed officials

Consolidation

Reduce number of local governments

End duplication of government services

Consolidate city and county governments

Share the expenses of select services