~This site is informational only~
The Williams County Commissioners' page was created to provide practical and factual information, so that our constituents may stay informed. STRUCTURE OF THE BOARD
OF WILLIAMS COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
Williams County is organized under general statutory law and has three county commissioners. The county commissioner elected during the gubernatorial election takes office on January 1, and the two commissioners elected at the presidential election take office on either January 2 or 3. Each county commissioner gives a bond, takes an oath of office and is sworn in before taking on official duties. The Board of County Commissioners is the policymaking and legislative body of this county. The commissioners hold title to all property owned by Williams County. The Board must annually approve Williams County’s general fund and all-funds budgets, and is the County government's taxing, appropriating and purchasing authority. There is, by law, a limitation to the Commissioner's authority in some matters involving other elected officials' offices, as powers are separated in county government. There is no chief executive officer, rather each of our eleven elected officials possess some executive authority. Commissioners also have a myriad of other responsibilities, including hearing and ruling on annexations, approving drainage improvements through the petition ditch process, establishing water and sewer districts, and making improvements and providing for solid waste disposal. The Board appoints department heads of offices for which they have responsibility, and appoints members to a variety of other boards and commissions. Individual commissioners have no power to act independently. The Board of County Commissioners, acting as a body by a majority or unanimous vote, must take all formal and official actions in an open meeting. Each commissioner sit on a number of other organizational boards throughout the county, region and state, including but not limited to: 911 Advisory Board, Area Office of Aging, Board of Revisions, County Commissioners Association of Ohio (CCAO), CCAO Deferred Compensation Committee, County Employee Benefits Consortium of Ohio (CEBCO), Corrections Center of Northwestern Ohio (CCNO), Courthouse Security, Data Processing Board, EMS Advisory Board, Family & Children First Council, Four County Joint Board, Four County Joint Solid Waste District Board of Directors, Four County Juvenile Detention Center Board, Hillside Country Living, Investment Advisory Committee, Local Community Corrections Planning Board, Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC), Maumee Valley Comprehensive Economic Development Committee (CEDS), Maumee Valley Guidance – Board of Directors, Maumee Valley Planning Organization (MVPO), Microfilm Board, MVPO Housing Advisory Board, Northwestern Ohio Community Action Committee (NOCAC), OSU Advisory Board, Sewer Liaison Committee, USDA Planning Board, WEDCO, WIA – Area 7 Board, Williams County Board of MRDD, Williams County Dept of Aging – Advisory Board, Williams County Fair Board, Williams County Soil & Water Conservation District, Williams County Transportation Improvement District & Williams County Workforce Advisory Council. As county government is also an administrative agent of state government, commissioners frequently comment to members of state government either directly or through the County Commissioners Association of Ohio. It is the non-statutory duties of county commissioners that make them different from other county elected officials. By necessity, county commissioners must take a broad view of actions necessary to make the county a better place to live and work. Many commissioners are thus active in promoting public/private partnerships in human services, economic development, health, and infrastructure development. Other commissioners take an active role in improving the environment, promoting job-training programs, and improving agriculture in their counties. County commissioners must be astute and have good business sense. Perhaps the most important attribute of a county commissioner is the ability to lead, to listen to the needs of the citizens and other elected officials, to compromise, and to develop a consensus on priority issues to improve the county. The organizational meeting of the Board of County Commissioners (ORC 305.05) shall organize not later than the second Monday of January of each year, when they must organize, elect a president and appoint a clerk. The Commissioners must hold at least 50 regular meetings per year (ORC 305.06) and as many special meetings as necessary to conduct their business. The salaries of commissioners are established by state law, and are based on population. To schedule appointments, please contact Clerk, Anne Retcher
