14.2 How Counties Are Governed

In Ohio, county governments operate under different forms, each with its own structure and method of governance. The county commissioner is the most prominent form; 86 out of 88 counties use this model. Only two, Cuyahoga and Summit Counties, use the county executive/council form.

Let’s use Lake County and Cuyahoga County to describe how the two models work.

County Commissioner Form (such as Lake, Lorain, Geauga, and Medina Counties)

Most Ohio counties use the traditional county commissioner form of government. Under this system, the board of county commissioners is the county’s governing body. It consists of three officials elected at-large by county voters to four-year terms. The board is responsible for setting county policies, approving budgets, and overseeing departments under its authority. Commissioners serve both executive and legislative roles, making decisions about both county operations and policies.

Oversight, in this context, means monitoring how departments operate and holding them accountable for carrying out county policies. However, providing oversight is different from managing daily operations.

To help manage county government, commissioners hire a county administrator, a professional responsible for coordinating day-to-day operations of county government. The county administrator works under the direction of the commissioners and typically performs several responsibilities:

• Supervises department heads
• Coordinates county operations and services they provide
• Prepares the budget
• Implements policies adopted by commissioners
• Advises commissioners

For example, the county administrator in Lorain County coordinates departments responsible for economic development, emergency management, human resources, information technology, job and family services, solid waste management, and other county functions.

This arrangement allows commissioners to focus on major decisions and oversight while the administrator handles much of the daily management. Commissioners remain accountable to voters for the decisions they make.

Ohio’s traditional county government also includes several independently elected officials. Each has responsibilities established by state law and generally manages their own office.

• Sheriff – Enforces the law, operates the county jail, provides court security, and serves certain legal documents.
• Prosecutor – Prosecutes criminal cases and serves as legal counsel for county government and certain other local governments.
• Treasurer – Collects property taxes and manages county funds.
• Clerk of Courts – Maintains court records, processes legal filings, and collects court fees. In many Ohio counties, the clerk also handles motor vehicle title records.
• Auditor – Maintains property valuations for taxation, administers certain tax functions, and helps oversee county financial records and payments.
• Recorder – Maintains public records related to property ownership, deeds, mortgages, and other land transactions.
• Engineer – Oversees county roads and bridges and performs certain engineering and surveying responsibilities.
• Coroner – Investigates certain deaths, including those that are sudden, suspicious, or unexplained, and determines their cause and manner.

Like county commissioners, these officials serve four-year terms.

This arrangement represents as example of a plural executive. You might remember that a plural executive is a system in which executive authority is divided among multiple independently elected officials as opposed to concentrated in one person. In this case, for example, county commissioners cannot simply direct the sheriff to change how the sheriff’s office operates. The sheriff has separate legal responsibilities and answers directly to voters.

A plural executive distributes power across several offices and creates opportunities for independent decision-making. However, it can also make coordination more difficult because no single elected official controls all county operations.

County Executive/Council Form (Cuyahoga and Summit Counties) 

Cuyahoga and Summit Counties use the county executive/council form of government. Under this system, voters elect a county executive to lead the executive branch of county government and a county council to serve as the legislative branch. Unlike the traditional county commissioner form, which combines executive and legislative responsibilities in one board, this system separates these powers between two branches of government.

The county executive serves as the county’s chief executive officer and is responsible for managing county operations. The county executive appoints senior administrators to help manage day-to-day operations.

The county council is the county’s legislative body. Council members are elected by voters to represent the county. The council passes ordinances (i.e. county laws), approves the budget, and provides oversight of the county executive.

This arrangement creates a system of checks and balances, in which each branch has powers that can limit the actions of the other.

Although Cuyahoga and Summit Counties use the same general form of government, they differ in important ways:

• Cuyahoga County – Voters approved a home rule charter in 2009, and the new government began operating in 2011. The county has an elected executive and an 11-member council, with each council member representing a district. The prosecuting attorney is also elected. However, several offices traditionally elected in Ohio counties, including sheriff, treasurer, and engineer, are appointed not elected.
• Summit County – Voters approved a home rule charter in 1979, and the new government began operating in 1981. The county has an elected executive and an 11-member council, with eight members elected by district and three elected at-large. Unlike Cuyahoga County, Summit County continues to elect its sheriff, prosecutor, engineer, clerk of courts, and fiscal officer.

The county executive/council form places much of the responsibility for managing county government in the hands of an elected executive. A separate county council exercises legislative authority.

Key Differences

The primary difference between these two forms lies in the separation of powers and the distribution of responsibilities. In the executive/council form, the executive and legislative roles are clearly divided between the county executive and the county council, promoting a system of checks and balances. Conversely, in the commissioner form, the board of commissioners combines both executive and legislative functions, leading to a more centralized decision-making process. Understanding these forms helps to appreciate how different counties tailor their governance structures to meet their unique needs and challenges.

Reference

Bethel, Alyssa. 2015. Overview of Ohio Local Government. Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Columbus, OH.