local government in the United States Local government in the United States refers to governmental jurisdictions below the level of the state. Most states and territories have at least two tiers of local government: counties and municipalities. Louisiana uses the term parish and Alas ...

, a county administrator or county manager is a person appointed to be the

administrative Administration may refer to: Management of organizations * Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal ** Administrative Assistant, traditionally known as a Secretary, or also known as an administrative officer, administ ...

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

of a

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

, in a council–manager form of county government. In some counties, the equivalent position is the

county executive A county executive, county manager or county mayor is the head of the executive branch of government in a United States county. The executive may be an elected or an appointed position. When elected, the executive typically functions either as a ...

(although this term is sometimes used to refer to a directly or indirectly elected official, and not a hired employee) or county

chief administrative officer A chief administrative officer (CAO) is a top-tier executive who supervises the daily operations of an organization and is ultimately responsible for its performance. Government and non-profit A CAO is responsible for administrative management of ...

(CAO) in some counties, and

county judge The term county judge is applied as a descriptor, sometimes as a title, for a person who presides over a county court. In most cases, such as in Northern Ireland and the Victorian County Courts, a county judge is a judicial officer with civil ...

in others. The term "county manager," as opposed to CAO, implies more discretion and independent authority that is set forth in a charter or some other body of codified law, as opposed to duties being assigned on a varying basis to a single superior such as a county commissioner. The

International City/County Management Association International City/County Management Association (ICMA; originally called the International City Managers' Association) is an association representing professionals in local government management. It is based in Washington, D.C., USA. ICMA provide ...

(ICMA) is the

professional association A professional association (also called a professional body, professional organization, or professional society) usually seeks to advocacy, further a particular profession, the interests of individuals and organisations engaged in that professio ...

for county administrators.

History

The county administrator/manager, operating under the council-manager government form, was created in part to remove county government from the power of the political parties, and place management of the county into the hands of an outside expert who was usually a business manager or engineer, with the hope that the county manager would remain neutral to county politics.Brinkley, A: ''American History: A Survey, Twelfth Edition,'' page 579. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2007

Responsibilities

As the top appointed official in the county, the county administrator/manager is typically responsible for most if not all of the day-to-day administrative operations of the county, in addition to other expectations.Council Manager Form of Government, ICMA publication
/ref>Sample Ordinance, ICMA.
/ref> Some of the basic roles, responsibilities, and powers of a county administrator/manager include: *Supervision of day-to-day operations of all county departments and staff, directly and through department heads; *Oversight of hiring, firing, disciplining and suspensions of all county employees; *Preparation, monitoring, and execution of the county budget, which includes submitting each year to the council a proposed budget package with options and recommendations for its consideration and possible approval; *Main technical advisor to the council on overall governmental operations; *Public relations, such as meeting with citizens, citizen groups, businesses, and other stakeholders (the presence of a county commissioner may alter this function somewhat); *Operating the county with a professional understanding of how all county functions operate together to their best effect; *Attends all council meetings, but does not have any voting rights *Additional duties that may be assigned by the council The responsibilities may vary depending upon charter provisions and other local or state laws, rules, and regulations.

Profile

Today the typical and preferred background and education for the beginning county manager is a

Master of Public Administration The Master of Public Administration (M.P.Adm., M.P.A., or MPA) is a specialized higher professional post graduate degree in public administration, similar/ equivalent to the Master of Business Administration but with an emphasis on the issues of ...

(MPA) or other

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

public administration Public Administration (a form of governance) or Public Policy and Administration (an academic discipline) is the implementation of public policy, administration of government establishment (public governance), management of non-profit establ ...

and at least several years’ experience as a department head in local government or as an assistant county manager. The average tenure of a manager is now 7–8 years and has risen gradually over the years. Tenures tend to be less in smaller communities and higher in larger ones, and they tend to vary as well depending on the region of the country.ICMA statistics
/ref>

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:County manager Administrator Government occupations Management occupations Titles Local government in the United States Heads of local government

History

Responsibilities

Profile

See also

Notes