What does a county board of commissioners do?
The board of commissioners is the oldest form of county government in America and is still very common. In colonial times, it was particularly prevalent in the South, which was less densely populated than the Northern colonies, and it spread across much of the rest of the country as the nation grew. These days, it is seen less in New England, where local government is usually administered at the town or city level. Connecticut, Rhode Island and parts of Massachusetts have no county governments at all [source: Kemp]. In a county commission form of government, a body of elected commissioners serves both the executive and the legislative duties, meaning they enact local ordinances and administer them. They approve budgets, oversee spending and hire county employees. The commission usually consists of three to five officials
