In a county the size of Licking, with all the development going on and the population rising fast, why are there only three commissioners making decisions for well over 100,000 residents and 600+ square miles of development possibilities?
Chuck M.
I’ll admit it: It seems like there are not enough hours in the day for just three people to oversee all of Licking County’s growth.
Between Intel’s ongoing, $28 billion computer-chip manufacturing facility construction and all of the new data centers in western Licking County, proposed whiskey rickhouses in eastern Licking County and the countywide pursuit of water and everything in between, it seems like a lot to put on just three people. But let’s take a deep dive into why this is the case.
The office of county commissioners for all of Ohio’s now 88 counties was established by the Territorial Act of 1792. The act appointed two commissioners per county to maintain and compile tax lists and levy taxes. Originally, the two commissioners were responsible for overseeing the construction of governmental buildings for their county, such as a courthouse, jailhouse, stocks, whipping post and financial stocks.
Ohio’s first constitution was adopted in November 1802, but it did not offer any provisions related to county commissioners. By February 1804, the General Assembly of Ohio established the boards of county commissioners, consisting of three elected officials who would serve for three years.
The earliest responsibilities required commissioners to maintain records of their meetings, assess taxes, appoint the county treasurer and supervise the construction of buildings and roadways sanctioned by the General Assembly.
More responsibilities were assigned in 1816, which allowed for commissioners to oversee the work of public welfare programs such as poor houses, orphanages, tuberculosis hospitals and elderly programs.
In the 1900s, commissioners gained more power over the county budget, animal control and zoning regulations. In this time, elected terms were increased to four years.
Today, the Licking County Board of Commissioners has a laundry list of responsibilities outside of its historical responsibilities. The mandates described in the Ohio Revised Code say the county commissioners manage various county agencies: Building Code Enforcement, Planning & Development, Child Support Enforcement, Building Services, Job & Family Services, Recycling & Litter, Water/Wastewater and Records & Archives. The commissioners supervise departments that facilitate Licking County’s local governments, including: Human Resources, Information Technology Services, Building Services and Maintenance. While a considerable amount of responsibility, the goal of the board of commissioners is to “serve the public and ensure the overall wellbeing of Licking County and its residents.”
However, there are a lot of responsibilities for three people to manage; so, to get an idea of the responsibilities and concerns about the number of commissioners, I went straight to one of Licking County Commissioners, Tim Bubb.
Bubb was first elected county commissioner in 2004 and was recently reelected for his sixth term as commissioner last November.
“The Constitution mandates there will be three commissioners. There’s one sheriff, one treasurer, one auditor, one coroner, several judges, depending upon how extensive their docket is,” Bubb said. “We’re the same basic government structure with just more people that we were, what, 220 years ago in 1803 when the state was founded.”
In short, there are only three commissioners because of Ohio law.
Bubb explained that even the largest county in the state, such as Franklin County with its 1.3 million residents, still has three county commissioners.
Bubb, alongside Licking County commissioners Rick Black and Duane Flowers, holds full-day public forums once a week when they discuss, deliberate and decide on actions. The commissioners never create new laws: Instead they work through resolutions that act as formal expressions of will from the governing body.
“We are the budget authority,” Bubb said. “We hold the checkbook for the county. We’re the contracting authority. In other words, we’re the only ones that actually can approve a contract for the county to spend money.”
“We have the authority to fund the activities of the county, the sheriff’s office, the jail, the dog pound, you name it, water, wastewater, the county engineer, all the services across the county that are provided by the county government,” he said.
Bubb noted that there are exceptions to the three-commissioner rule. Summit and Cuyahoga counties (Akron and Cleveland) operate as charter counties. They have a county council and an elected county executive, rather than the traditional three-member board of county commissioners.
In Bubb’s six terms, with 21 years of experience as a county commissioner, he has not seen efforts in Licking County to become a charter county.
“Citizens, through a petition process, could bring that question to the ballot,” he said. “Under Ohio law, if the voters approve it, you can make a county a charter county. Under a charter, they could set up a county council, and you could have more than three commissioners. It has been tried in some other counties unsuccessfully.”
In the end, Licking County is structured around state law that requires three commissioners per county.
Thanks for asking away!
Tyler Thompson writes for TheReportingProject.org, the nonprofit news organization of Denison University’s Journalism program, which is supported by generous donations from readers. Sign up for The Reporting Project newsletter here.