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Aboard of supervisors is a governmental body that oversees the operation ofcounty government in theU.S. states ofArizona,California,Iowa,Mississippi,Virginia, andWisconsin, as well as 16 counties inNew York. There are equivalent agencies in other states.[1]
Similar to acity council, a board of supervisors haslegislative,executive, andquasi-judicial powers. The important difference is that a county is an administrative division of a state, whereas a city is amunicipal corporation; thus, counties implement and, as necessary, refine thelocal application ofstate law andpublic policy, while cities produce and implement their own local laws and public policy (subject to the overriding authority of state law).[2] Often they are concerned with the provision ofcourts, jails, public health andpublic lands.
Boards may pass and repeal laws, generally calledordinances. Depending on the state, and the subject matter of the law, these laws may apply to the entire county or to onlyunincorporated areas not located within the jurisdiction of a city. The board is also responsible for approving the county budget. County governments may collect state taxes and, in some states, they may also levy taxes, such as property or sales tax.
In some states, includingMichigan, and in someNew York counties until recently, county governing boards were composed of township (Michigan) or town (New York) "supervisors". These are the chief elected officials of each civil township. Boards of Supervisors were originally composed of the various town/township supervisors from across the county. This system gave every township one vote on the county board regardless of its population, resulting in less populous townships having influence in decision-making that was disproportionate to their populations.
Both Michigan and New York changed how they elected county boards by dividing counties into single member districts, drawn so that each district has more or less the same sized population or with each township's vote weighted by population, under order from theWarren Court (seeReynolds v. Sims). In Michigan, the new board model was implemented in 1968. The name "Board of Supervisors" was changed to "Board of Commissioners" in 1970 to avoid confusion with township government (where the term "Supervisor" was still used). In New York, the new boards were called "county legislatures" (and their members, "county legislators"), but not every county has adopted this system. Those that retained the old boards of supervisors after the 1960s assigned each member a proportional vote based on the population represented.
Boards oversee county departments. Generally, this is done under the aegis of acounty administrator orcounty executive. The power of the executive to act independently depends on the county charter. The administrator or executive usually has the authority over the day-to-day operations of the county's departments. Many boards independently appoint department heads, while other boards delegate that authority to the administrator or executive. Some department heads, like thesheriff ordistrict attorney, may be elected separately by the electorate; however, the board still controls these departments' budgets.
In theCity and County of San Francisco, aconsolidated city-county government, the Board of Supervisors does dual duty as a county board of control and a city council, and themayor is simultaneously city head of government and county executive.
In some states, the board is the final arbiter of decisions made by commissions underneath a board. This often involvesland use planning issues.
In some states the equivalent body to a Board of Supervisors is called thecounty council orcounty commission. ForLouisianaparishes, the equivalent body is aPolice Jury, while inKentucky the equivalent is called theFiscal Court. InNebraska, some counties are governed by a board of supervisors while others are governed by a county commission. In New York, counties are governed by a county legislature, a board of representatives, or a board of supervisors.
InPennsylvania, "Board of Supervisors" is the name of the body governingtownships of the second class that have not adopted a home rule charter. By default, a Pennsylvania township board of supervisors consists of three members, elected at large in odd-numbered years to staggered six-year terms. Voters of a township of the second class can vote to expand the board to five members. By contrast, townships of the first class elect a Board of Commissioners, either consisting of 5 at large members in townships without wards, or choosing one member from each ward (15 being the maximum number of wards permitted).