A drain commissioner is an
elected official
An official is someone who holds an office (function or Mandate (politics), mandate, regardless whether it carries an actual Office, working space with it) in an organization or government and participates in the exercise of authority, (either th ...
in
county government
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 ...
of the
U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...
of
Michigan
Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...
who is responsible for planning, developing and maintaining surface water
drainage
Drainage is the natural or artificial removal of a surface's water and sub-surface water from an area with excess of water. The internal drainage of most agricultural soils is good enough to prevent severe waterlogging (anaerobic conditio ...
systems under Public Act 40 of 1956. In counties with a population under 12,000, the office of drain commissioner may be abolished with its
statutory
A statute is a formal written enactment of a legislative authority that governs the legal entities of a city, state, or country by way of consent. Typically, statutes command or prohibit something, or declare policy. Statutes are rules made by le ...
duties and responsibilities performed by the
county's board of road commissioners. Unlike other county-wide officeholders, drain commissioners were created by statute and are not mandated by the
Michigan Constitution
The Constitution of the State of Michigan is the governing document of the U.S. state of Michigan. It describes the structure and function of the state's government.
There have been four constitutions approved by the people of Michigan. The fi ...
. Drain commissioners are elected on the
partisan
Partisan may refer to:
Military
* Partisan (weapon), a pole weapon
* Partisan (military), paramilitary forces engaged behind the front line
Films
* ''Partisan'' (film), a 2015 Australian film
* ''Hell River'', a 1974 Yugoslavian film also know ...
ballot in
presidential election years for a term of four years.
History and reform
The office of drain commissioner dates to Michigan's
statehood
A state is a centralized political organization that imposes and enforces rules over a population within a territory. There is no undisputed definition of a state. One widely used definition comes from the German sociologist Max Weber: a "sta ...
in 1837, as much of the state's land was
swamps
A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in ...
and
wetlands
A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The ...
. An early bill passed by the
Michigan Legislature
The Michigan Legislature is the legislature of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is organized as a bicameral body composed of an upper chamber, the Senate, and a lower chamber, the House of Representatives. Article IV of the Michigan Constitution, ...
was a drainage act, which led to the creation of drain commissioners at the
township
A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries.
Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Ca ...
level. In 1897, township drain commissioners were abolished and the position was transferred to county government.
Over the years, proposals have been made to reform and even abolish the office. Successful efforts have changed the law to allow individual counties to rename the office to public works commissioner or water resources commissioner.
An unsuccessful reform proposal in 2009 was led by the then-drain commissioner of
Cheboygan County
Cheboygan County ( ) is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 Census, the population was 25,579. The county seat is Cheboygan, Michigan, Cheboygan. The county boundaries were s ...
, Dennis Lennox, who sought to abolish the office in counties with a population of less than 35,000. This proposal was introduced in both houses of the Legislature after being approved by the Cheboygan County
Board of Commissioners
A county commission (or a board of county commissioners) is a group of elected officials (county commissioners) collectively charged with administering the county government in some states of the United States; such commissions usually comprise ...
.
In 2012, the
Schoolcraft County
Schoolcraft County ( ) is a county located in the Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 8,047, making it Michigan's fourth-least populous county. The county seat is Manistique, which lies alo ...
Board of Commissioners abolished the office of drain commissioner and transferred its duties and responsibilities to the county's road commissioners.
Duties and responsibilities
It is the only elected office in Michigan that can directly levy taxes and borrow money without a vote of the people. This led one drain commissioner to declare he is more powerful than the governor.
While the powers of the drain commissioner are immense, the office has become a
sinecure
A sinecure ( or ; from the Latin , 'without', and , 'care') is an office, carrying a salary or otherwise generating income, that requires or involves little or no responsibility, labour, or active service. The term originated in the medieval chu ...
in some counties, meaning it requires little to no responsibility.
Nevertheless, drain commissioners are responsible for overseeing the county's drains. In Michigan, a drain may be a natural or artificial creek or ditch, or a massive pipe for carrying storm water. The territory served by a particular drain, its
watershed
Watershed is a hydrological term, which has been adopted in other fields in a more or less figurative sense. It may refer to:
Hydrology
* Drainage divide, the line that separates neighbouring drainage basins
* Drainage basin, called a "watershe ...
, is typically organized as a drainage district and the drain commissioner levies tax assessments and directs construction or maintenance of drains and culverts on behalf of each district. Drainage districts are public corporations, with legal rights similar to other political subdivisions of state government. Counties typically have dozens even hundreds of drainage districts.
See also
*
Government of Michigan
Michigan has a republican form of government with three branches of government: the executive branch consisting of the Governor of Michigan and the other independently elected constitutional officers; the legislative branch consisting of the Hous ...
*
Drainage law
Drainage law is a specific area of water law related to drainage of surface water on real property. It is particularly important in areas where freshwater is scarce, flooding is common, or water is in high demand for agricultural or commercial pur ...
References
{{reflist
External links
Michigan Association of County Drain Commissioners
Local government in Michigan
Water law in the United States
Government occupations
Land management in the United States
Water management