# County commission > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/County_commission > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/County_commission.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/County_commission > Source revision: 1354986545 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) Form of local government For the executive body of Slovakia between 1943 and 1960, see [Board of Commissioners (Slovak executive body)](/source/Board_of_Commissioners_(Slovak_executive_body)). County Commission [Texas historical marker](/source/Texas_historical_marker) in [Brenham, Texas](/source/Brenham%2C_Texas) A **county commission** (or a **board of county commissioners**) is a group of elected officials (**county commissioners**) collectively charged with administering the [county government](/source/County_(United_States)#County_government) in some [states](/source/U.S._state) of the [United States](/source/United_States). A county usually has three to five members of the county commission.[1] In some counties within [Georgia](/source/Georgia_(U.S._state)) a [sole commissioner](/source/Sole_commissioner) holds the authority of the commission. In parts of the United States, alternative terms such as [county board of supervisors](/source/County_board_of_supervisors) or [county council](/source/County_council) may be used in lieu of, but generally synonymous to, a county commission. However, in some jurisdictions there may be distinct differences between a county commission and other similarly titled bodies. For example, a county council may differ from a county commission by containing more members or by having a [council-manager form of government](/source/Council-manager_form_of_government). In [Indiana](/source/Indiana), every county, except [Marion County](/source/Marion_County%2C_Indiana) which is consolidated with the city of [Indianapolis](/source/Indianapolis), has both a county commission and a county council, with the county commission having administrative authority and the county council being responsible for fiscal matters.[2] Each commission acts as the [executive](/source/Executive_(government)) of the local government, levying local taxes, administering county governmental services such as correctional institutions, courts, public health oversight, property registration, building code enforcement, and [public works](/source/Public_works) (e.g. road maintenance). The system has been supplanted in large part, as disparate sparsely settled regions become urbanized and establish tighter local governmental control, usually in [municipalities](/source/Municipalities), though in many of the more rural states, the county commission retains more control, and even in some urbanized areas, may be responsible for significant government services. Various counties nationwide have explored expanding from three members to five.[3][4][5] ## History ### Origin [William Penn](/source/William_Penn), colonial founder of Pennsylvania originated the system of county commissions in the United States. On February 28, 1681, King [Charles II of England](/source/Charles_II_of_England) granted a charter for a [proprietary colony](/source/Proprietary_colony)[6] to William Penn to repay a debt of £16,000[7] (around £2,100,000 in 2008 currency, adjusting for retail inflation)[8] owed to William's father, Admiral [William Penn](/source/William_Penn_(Royal_Navy_officer)). This was one of the largest land grants to one individual ever made in history.[9] Penn established a local colonial government with two innovations that were copied by other colonies in the [British America](/source/British_America): the county commission, and [freedom of religious conviction](/source/Freedom_of_religion).[9] ### Spread and development As local governments were established on the [frontier](/source/American_frontier), the growth of [township](/source/Township_(United_States)) governments provided services more efficiently to rural areas than the county government. These townships were led by an elected leader called a Supervisor. Several states replaced the directly elected County Commission with a representative system of the Supervisors of the townships. These became known as the Board of Supervisors. Western States started using this title for their county boards even when they are directly elected like a traditional commission. [New Jersey](/source/New_Jersey) previously referred to county commissioners as freeholders, but its practice ended in 2021.[10][11] ## County boards by state State County board Title Notes Alabama County Commission Alaska Board of Supervisors Arizona Board of Supervisors Arkansas Quorum Court California Board of Supervisors Colorado Board of County Commissioners Connecticut County Commission Abolished in 1961; Connecticut's counties now exist only for historic convention and statistical reporting. Delaware County Council Florida Board of County Commissioners Georgia County Commission A commission of one member, known a sole commissioner for some counties in Georgia Hawaii County Council Idaho Board of Commissioners Illinois Board of Commissioners Board of Supervisors Indiana Board of County Commissioners Iowa Board of Supervisors Kansas Board of County Commissioners Kentucky Fiscal Court Louisiana Police Jury Maine Board of County Commissioners Maryland Board of County Commissioners Massachusetts Board of County Commissioners Michigan Board of Commissioners Minnesota Board of Commissioners Mississippi Board of Supervisors Missouri Commissioners' Court Montana County Commission[12] Nebraska Board of Commissioners Board of Supervisors Nevada Board of County Commissioners New Hampshire Board of County Commissioners New Jersey Board of County Commissioners formerly known as the Board of Chosen Freeholders New Mexico Board of County Commissioners New York North Carolina Board of County Commissioners North Dakota Board of County Commissioners Ohio Board of County Commissioners Oklahoma Board of County Commissioners Oregon Board of County Commissioners County Court Pennsylvania Board of Commissioners Rhode Island South Carolina County Council South Dakota Board of Commissioners Tennessee Board of Commissioners Texas Commissioners' Court Utah County Commission Vermont Assistant Judges Virginia Board of Supervisors Washington County Council Board of Supervisors West Virginia County Commission Wisconsin Board of Supervisors Wyoming Board of County Commissioners ## See also - [County board of supervisors](/source/County_board_of_supervisors) - [County council](/source/County_council) - [County executive](/source/County_executive) ## References and footnotes 1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** Kelly, John (2010-03-23). ["What does a county board of commissioners do?"](https://people.howstuffworks.com/government/local-politics/county-board-of-commissioners.htm). *HowStuffWorks*. Retrieved 2019-08-13. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** ["Unravelling local government: County commissioners vs. county council"](https://www.indystar.com/story/news/2016/04/22/unravelling-local-government-county-comission-vs-county-council/83023204/). *IndyStar*. 2016-04-22. Retrieved 2021-08-01. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** ["Senate passes 5 county commissioners bill with 'tweak' | The Spokesman-Review"](https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2018/feb/28/senate-passes-5-county-commissioners-bill-with-twe/). *www.spokesman.com*. 28 February 2018. Retrieved 2019-08-13. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** ["Editorial: What's better than three commissioners? Five"](https://www.dailycamera.com/ci_32045434/editorial-boulder-three-commissioners-five). *Boulder Daily Camera*. 2018-08-01. Retrieved 2019-08-13. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** Devine, Jacqueline (2018-03-09). ["Board of County Commissioners turns down motion to increase board from 3 members to 5"](https://www.alamogordonews.com/story/news/local/community/2018/03/09/board-county-commissioners-turns-down-motion-increase-board-members/409211002/). *Alamogordo Daily News*. Retrieved 2019-08-13. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** [Charter for the Province of Pennsylvania-1681](https://avalon.law.yale.edu/17th_century/pa01.asp). This charter, granted by [Charles II (England)](/source/Charles_II_(England)) to William Penn, constituted him and his heirs as proprietors of the province, which, in honor of his father, Admiral [William Penn](/source/William_Penn_(Royal_Navy_officer)), (whose cash advances and services were thus requited) was called Pennsylvania. To perfect his title, William Penn purchased, on 1682-08-24, a quit-claim from the [Duke of York](/source/James_II_(England)) to the lands west of the [Delaware River](/source/Delaware_River) embraced in his patent of 1664 1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** Pennsylvania Society of Colonial Governors, ed. (1916). "Samuel Carpenter". [*Pennsylvania Society of Colonial Governors, Volume 1*](https://books.google.com/books?id=4rQBAAAAMAAJ). pp. 180–181. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** ["Measuring Worth"](https://web.archive.org/web/20110714064027/http://www.measuringworth.com/ppoweruk/result.php?use%5B%5D=CPI&use%5B%5D=NOMINALEARN&year_early=1681£71=16000&shilling71=&pence71=&amount=16000&year_source=1681&year_result=2008). Measuring Worth. Archived from [the original](http://www.measuringworth.com/ppoweruk/result.php?use%5B%5D=CPI&use%5B%5D=NOMINALEARN&year_early=1681£71=16000&shilling71=&pence71=&amount=16000&year_source=1681&year_result=2008) on July 14, 2011. Retrieved July 31, 2010. 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-quapoly_9-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-quapoly_9-1) ["Quakers and the political process"](https://web.archive.org/web/20080524050103/http://www.pym.org/exhibit/p078.html). Pym.org. March 28, 2006. Archived from [the original](http://www.pym.org/exhibit/p078.html) on May 24, 2008. Retrieved July 31, 2010. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** ["'Freeholder' Title Abolished In New Jersey"](https://patch.com/new-jersey/longvalley/freeholder-title-abolished-new-jersey). *Long Valley, NJ Patch*. 2020-08-21. Retrieved 2020-08-21. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** MICHELLE BRUNETTI (21 August 2020). ["Murphy signs bill into law to change "freeholder" title to "commissioner""](https://pressofatlanticcity.com/news/murphy-signs-bill-into-law-to-change-freeholder-title-to-commissioner/article_dfee2290-4c09-5a93-9c0e-6d3407cc2a7c.html). *Press of Atlantic City*. Retrieved 2020-08-21. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-12)** ["Part 21. County Commissioners - Table of Contents, Title 7, Chapter 4, MCA"](https://leg.mt.gov/bills/mca/title_0070/chapter_0040/part_0210/sections_index.html). --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [County commission](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/County_commission) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/County_commission?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.