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Clay
County
Board of
Commissioners
District 1
District 2
District 3
District 4
District 5
Duties
Meeting Agendas
Meeting Schedule
Official Minutes
State of the County
Address
Viewing Meetings
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Duties of a County
Commissioner
County commissioners are
elected officials that oversee county activities and work to ensure
that citizen concerns are met, federal and state requirements are fulfilled,
and county operations run smoothly.
County commissioners spend
a lot of time working with and representing people. They attend
regular meetings of the county board as well as meetings of county
board sub-committees and national boards and commissions, including
school boards, city councils, township boards, and state and federal
offices. County commissioners also work with constituents and
respond to constituent concerns.
County commissioners have
many administrative duties as overseers of the county, as well as
financial and legislative responsibilities. Here is a partial
list of these duties and responsibilities.
Administrative/Management
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Establish policies
and procedures for central administration and for county
departments to meet county goals.
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Coordinate activities
of the county board, central administration and county departments
with those of the independently elected officers, including auditor,
treasurer, recorder, attorney and sheriff. Many counties have
a variation of these offices.
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Represent the county
on administrative/advisory boards and commissions which provide
direct and indirect county or county related services. These
include airports, libraries, community corrections, local public
health boards, community action agencies, mental health centers, day
care centers, nursing homes, developmental achievement centers,
extension, regional development commissions, hospitals,
social services, joint solid waste commissions, and planning
commissions.
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Manage the county
personnel system, including the authorizing of the number of
county employees, establishing salaries, and conditions of
employment, approving a county benefit schedule, negotiating and
approving labor agreements, supervising appointed county department
heads, participating in and approving the recruitment and employment
of all county employees, and implementing the county pay equity plan
and the county affirmative action/equal opportunity plan.
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Adopt and oversee
the process for purchase of equipment and supplies for use by the
county.
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Appoint county
representatives to other governmental entities, such as watershed
districts and library boards.
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Review the
effectiveness of county services and programs.
Taxation/Finance
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Review, adjust and
adopt the annual county budget and program as presented by the
central administration or county departments.
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Authorize the
levy and collection of county-wide property taxes.
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Serve as a board of
equalization on disputes regarding appraised property values for
taxing purposes.
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Authorize the
application for and/or receipt of funds from federal and state
governments and their use within the county budget.
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Adopt and participate
in the implementation of fiscal management policies for the county
in areas such as investment, reserve policy, short-term borrowing,
use of bonds and risk management/insurance.
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Monitor the
overall fiscal health of the county through regular reports of the
auditor, treasurer and finance departments.
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Approve the
payment of bills for expenses incurred by the county.
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Develop and adopt
a capital improvement program/budget covering major county
expenditures over a series of years.
Legislative
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Adopt ordinances
as needed for the enforcement of county-wide actions.
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Ratify, modify or
deny the actions of commissions and boards which are advisory to
the county board.
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Pass resolutions
relating to county concerns.
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Approve county
participation in joint powers agreements with other governmental
units.
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Communicate
county actions and concerns to the general public through school
groups, business groups, civic organizations, the press and other
public forums.
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Participate in
both district and statewide meetings of the Association of Minnesota
Counties (AMC), including the annual meeting and the legislative
conference.
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Participate in
activities of the National Association of Counties (NACO).
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Attend
conferences, meetings, training and other education programs, as
approved by the board, which relate to county activities.
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Other duties and
responsibilities that may be enacted by the federal government,
state legislature and governor.
Source: Association
of Minnesota Counties (AMC).
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