local government in the United States Most U.S. states and territories have at least two tiers of local government: County (United States), counties and municipality, municipalities. Louisiana uses the term List of parishes in Louisiana, parish and Alaska uses the term List of bo ...

, sole commissioner government is a

county commission 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. A county usually has three to fiv ...

with only one seat. The sole commissioner typically holds all

legislative A legislature (, ) is a deliberative assembly with the legal authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country, nation or city on behalf of the people therein. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers ...

and

executive Executive ( exe., exec., execu.) may refer to: Role or title * Executive, a senior management role in an organization ** Chief executive officer (CEO), one of the highest-ranking corporate officers (executives) or administrators ** Executive dir ...

powers in the county. Even though with one commissioner there is no voiced

debate Debate is a process that involves formal discourse, discussion, and oral addresses on a particular topic or collection of topics, often with a moderator and an audience. In a debate, arguments are put forward for opposing viewpoints. Historica ...

among the commission, sole commissioners typically hold public meetings to allow public input on decisions. Though the structure was historically more widespread, now

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

is the only state in the United States to have counties governed by a sole commissioner. Debates over the establishment or removal of a sole commissioner government generally hinge on efficiency versus representation and debate. The advantage to single commissioner is lower cost. With an average Georgia salary for a county commissioner being $168,195 per year, or $14,016 per month, The reduction from the three-man man commission board to a sole commissioner is a savings of $336,390 in salary plus another estimated million in extra staffing. Most counties with sole commissioners are small and rural. However,

Bartow County, Georgia Bartow County is in the Northwest region of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 108,901, up from 100,157 in 2010. The county seat is Cartersville. Traditionally considered part of northwest Georgia, Bartow ...

(part of

exurb An exurb (or alternately: exurban area) is an area outside the typically denser inner suburbs, suburban area, at the edge of a metropolitan area, which has some economic and commuting connection to the metro area, low housing-density, and rela ...

metro Atlanta Metro Atlanta, designated by the United States Office of Management and Budget as the Atlanta–Sandy Springs–Roswell metropolitan statistical area, is the most populous metropolitan statistical area in the U.S. state of Georgia and the sixt ...

) and, until recently, Walker County, Georgia (part of metro

Chattanooga Chattanooga ( ) is a city in Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located along the Tennessee River and borders Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the south. With a population of 181,099 in 2020, it is Tennessee ...

) are notable exceptions.

Counties with sole commissioners

Currently in Georgia

* Bartow * Bleckley * Chattooga * Murray * Pulaski *

Towns A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

* Union

Previously in Georgia

* Dade * Pickens * Walker (until 2021) * Webster * Whitfield

References

Local government in the United States Forms of local government County executives in the United States County commissioners in Georgia (U.S. state) {{GeorgiaUS-stub