Commissioner FAQ:
How Does the Perry County Board of Commissioners Operate?
The Perry County Board of Commissioners is just that, a three-member board. This is unlike the Office of the County Recorder where a single, elected official oversees and is solely responsible for decisions within that office. Within the office of the Perry County Commissioners, it takes a majority vote (a minimum of two votes) to take any official action.
A good Commissioner is able to work with others without imposing personal or political bias in decision-making.
A lone Commissioner cannot make any policy changes, budget changes, or any personnel management decisions. Anything requiring a board decision needs to have the majority vote or consensus of the three commissioners.
There are a number of decisions outside these policy, funding and personnel actions that a County Commissioner can decide without board approval. Here is an example:
A Perry County employee advises they hit an object on the road and have a flat tire on a county vehicle. The tire is ruined and the full tire set has 60,000 miles on it. The employee asks; “Should I replace the tire that went flat or just get four new tires?”
Advising the department head to purchase a complete set of new tires is completely within the scope of a lone Commissioner’s authority. Approval can be given without requiring the department head to come to a board meeting to seek a resolution to buy four tires. Passing a resolution on record is just unnecessary.
The Perry County Board of Commissioners has three roles: Chairman, Vice Chairman and Chaplain. Each position holds one vote. The Chairman has the responsibility of running meetings and ensuring proper parliamentary procedure rules are followed. The Vice Chairman fills that role in the absence of the chairman.
So, who is in charge? No one commissioner is really in charge. Each commissioner has one vote. To pass any resolution, majority approval is required. With three members, it’s impossible to have a tie. For example, let’s say one commissioner feels the staff should have the County Commissioner’s Office open for four hours every Saturday. One Commissioner does not have authority to make that type of a change.
