Elected Officials information.

Each Ohio county organized under the general statutory law has eleven elected officials consisting of three county commissioners and an auditor, treasurer, prosecuting attorney, clerk of courts of common pleas, engineer, coroner, recorder and sheriff. There is no chief executive officer; each elected official possesses some executive authority.

General Information on County Government in Ohio

County government predates statehood. Indeed, by the time Ohio was admitted to the Union in 1803, nine counties had been established under the provisions of the Northwest Ordinance of 1787. Washington County was Ohio's first county, established in 1 788. Ohio now contains 88 county governments.

The roots of county government can be traced back as far as 603 AD to an area of Southern England where the King divided the land into
"shires". Shires were controlled by the monarchy who appointed a local governing official. The term shire was used until the 15th century when the term "county" was adopted. County government evolved in England over several centuries and was brought to the United States with the English colonizers. American independence fostered various changes to American government, including the strengthening of state governments and a more defined role for counties. Yet, the Saxon influence is still evident in county government today.

County government does not possess home rule authority. That is to say, county officials may act only when and as specifically authorized by state
law. An 1857 Supreme Court case established a general theory of the status of counties which is still relevant today. The court stated:

"Counties are local subdivisions of a state,
created by the sovereign power of the state,
of its own will, without the particular solicitation,
consent, or concurrent action of the people
who inhabit them.... With scarcely an exception ,
all powers and functions of the county organization
have a direct and exclusive reference to the general
policy of the state, and are, in fact, but a branch of
the general administration of that policy.
(Hamilton County v Mighels, OS 109)."

In addition, other court rulings have defined the nature of county government in Ohio. County government is viewed as "a constituent part of the plan of permanent organization of the state government (State ex rel Godfrey v O'Brien, 95 OS 166). Another court viewed counties as "serving as a mere agency of the state for certain specified purposes (Cincinnati W.E.Z.R. Co. v Clinton County (1 OS 77)). Many county officials who are concerned with the problems of state mandates become enraged when they are reminded that one court stated that "the county is a creature in the hands of the state as its creator, subject to be molded and fashioned by the state as the exigencies of the situation may require" (Blacker v Wiethe 16 OS (2d) 65).

Contrast these statements by the courts defining the basic nature of a county with Article XVIII, Section 3, of the Ohio Constitution, the Municipal
Home Rule Amendment of 1912:

"Municipalities shall have authority to
exercise all powers of local self-
government and to adopt and enforce
within their limits such police, sanitary
and other similar regulations, as are not
in conflict with general laws."

While the concept of municipal home rule is complex and has been defined over the years by a myriad of court rulings, the distinction is clear.
Counties, not possessing home rule or powers of local self-government, may perform only those governmental functions specifically authorized by
state law and in the manner specified in law. If the Ohio Revised Code is silent on the subject, counties do not possess the authority to act.

Municipalities, on the other hand, are generally free to act in areas where counties may not. The Home Rule Amendment to the Ohio Constitution grants municipalities almost unlimited authority to exercise
powers of local self government. In addition, municipalities may enact police, sanitary, or similar regulations if they do not conflict with general laws of the state. The courts have interpreted the Ohio Constitutional provision "as are not in conflict with general laws" as applying only to "police, sanitary and other similar regulations" and not to "powers
of local self government". The adoption of a municipal charter is not required in order to obtain home rule powers because municipal home rule is a direct constitutional grant of power.