Click here to skip to main content.
scenic picture from Washington state
SUBJECTS › GOVERNANCE › County Elected Officials

Updated 08/03
 

County Elected Officials

County Elected Officials

*For lists of current county officials, see our county profiles.

Contents

Introduction

Counties differ significantly from cities in the number of independently elected officials with unique constitutional and statutory responsibilities. Although home rule charter counties have the ability to change the status and function of some of the county elected officials, certain limitations are provided in the state constitution. Counties are run by full-time elected officials including commissioners (or council members and an executive), assessor, auditor, superior court clerk, coroner or medical examiner, prosecuting attorney, sheriff, and treasurer.

The statutory functions and responsibilities of the county elected officials must be assigned by county charter to the county legislative body or to specific county officials provided for in the charter, who may be elected or appointed. The names and responsibilities of the elected county officials described in the state constitution and laws remain the same in the charters of the five charter counties. In the four charter counties which have adopted a council-executive form of government, all four county executives are elected officials.

In contrast to counties, cities are generally run by a legislative council of part-time elected officials, a mayor in mayor-council cities, a city manager in council-manager cities, and other appointed department heads and managers.

A description of the basic duties of the county elected officials is provided in the following sections.

Back to Contents

Assessor

The primary responsibility of the county assessor is to determine the value of all taxable real and personal property in both the incorporated and unincorporated areas of the county for the purpose of determining the tax liabilities of the taxpayers in the various taxing districts in an equitable manner. The county assessor is responsible for the calculation of property tax levies necessary to raise revenues for government services and administers a variety of tax exemptions, including the exemption and deferral programs for low income senior citizens and disabled persons.

A number of record keeping and administrative functions are necessary to appraise property, determine property valuations, and calculate tax levies in accordance with the legal requirements. The county assessor generally maintains the tax assessor's parcel maps and legal descriptions of tax parcels as well as other records relating to property valuation.

Requirements for accurate and timely property value determinations and valuations consistent with applicable land development plans and regulations have made the county assessor's responsibilities increasingly complex. Recent changes in the law on real property tax increases and averaging of large increases in property values to phase tax increases have added further complexity and raised new legal concerns for county assessors.

A taxpayer who disagrees with the county assessor's value determinations has a right to appeal the decision to the county board of equalization, which is basically the county board of property tax appeals.

Reference Sources

County Assessor Professional Organizations and Resources

Back to Contents

Auditor

The county auditor has a broad range of duties and responsibilities involving specific statutory functions and county financial administration. The auditor examines and audits county financial records and may prepare the preliminary county budget for the board of county commissioners. The auditor also has functions relating to special districts. The functions and duties of the county auditor vary among counties, and the auditor's role in county financial administration is often revised in charter counties. Many of the auditors' statutory duties are not associated with county finance.

The primary statutory responsibilities of the county auditor are: (1) recording (recording of real property documents such as deeds and other recorded documents); (2) licensing (licensing, titling, and registration for motor vehicles and watercraft, issuing various licenses such as marriage and business licenses, and acting as agent for the state Department of Revenue in collecting certain feesand taxes); (3) elections and voter registration (acting as ex-officio supervisor of elections and administering voter registration and elections); (4) county financial audit and administration (duties may include auditing county expenditures, serving as ex officio supervisor of the state Auditor's Office Division of Municipal Corporations, preparation and administration of the county budget, and other county fiscal management functions); and (5) clerk of the board of county commissioners (if the board of commissioners does not reassign that function).

Reference Sources

  • Statutes
  • Attorney General Opinions

      AGO 1996 No. 012
      Discusses duties of county auditors and treasurers regarding recording of documents.

  • Selected MRSC Library Holdings - County Auditors [Note: Clicking on this link will take you to a list of documents available on loan through the MRSC library.]

County Auditor Professional Organizations and Resources

Back to Contents

Clerk (Superior Court Clerk)

The county clerk is the administrative and financial officer for the state superior court of the county and is responsible for court records, including entry of all orders, judgments and decrees issued by the court. The county clerk provides a number of services in connection with the court system, including maintaining court records and exhibits, administering oaths, managing the jury system, acting as a quasi-judicial officer for the issuance of writs and subpoenas, and providing citizens with access to public court records. The county clerk also has certain non-court functions such as holding bonds for public officials and keeping records for certain special purpose districts.

Reference Sources

  • Statutory and Constitutional Provisions
  • Court Decisions

      Nast v. Michels, et al., 107 Wn.2d 300, 730 P.2d 54 (1986)
      Holding court files are not subject to the Public Records Disclosure Act, but such files may be subject to public review under common law rights of access.

  • Selected MRSC Library Holdings - County Clerks and Superior Court Clerks

      Records Management Manual and General Records Retention Schedule for County Clerk and Clerk of the Superior Court. Washington State Secretary of State, Division of Archives and Records Management. Olympia, Wash.: State of Washington, 1993. [G 9.4000 W3 C684 1993]

County Superior Court Clerk Professional Organizations and Resources

Back to Contents

Board of County Commissioners or County Council (in Council-Executive Charter Counties)

The board of county commissioners or, in most "home rule" charter counties, the county council, is the legislative authority for the county. The county commissioners also serve as the chief administrators for most county operations. In the four charter counties with a council-executive form of government, the county council is the legislative authority, and most administrative functions have been assigned by charter to an elected county executive. Depending upon the county charter and ordinances, the county council or board of commissioners may also have quasi-judicial duties, such as hearing appeals of local land use decisions. Some county commissions and councils have established a hearing examiner system and appoint a hearing examiner to hold hearings on quasi-judicial land use matters.

The commissioners or council members adopt ordinances, resolutions, and motions, levy taxes, appropriate revenue, and adopt the final budget for the county. The legislative body generally confirms appointments to county boards and commissions. The commissioners or council members generally appoint the members of the boundary review board and planning commission in counties which have created this board and commission. The commissioners can also sit as the board of equalization (basically the county board of property tax appeals) to review disputed assessments.

Reference Sources

County Commissioners or Council Members Professional Organizations and Resources

Back to Contents

Coroner/Medical Examiner

The county coroner or medical examiner is responsible for conducting death investigations, including inquests. In counties over 250,000 in population, the county legislative authority may, upon confirmation by county voters, replace the elected office of coroner with an appointed medical examiner under the medical examiner system. In counties with a medical examiner system, the medical examiner performs the functions of the coroner and may perform other duties such as autopsies and lab studies. In counties under 40,000 in population (17 of 30 counties, based on 1997 population), the County Prosecuting Attorney serves as the coroner. While not common, the county coroner is also authorized by law to serve as the County Sheriff under certain conditions.

Reference Sources

  • Statutes
  • Selected MRSC Library Holdings - Coroner/Medical Examiner

      Death Investigation: The Basics. Brad Randall, M.D. Tucson, Ariz.: Galen Press, 1997. [CO 2.6000 D43 1997]

  • Coroners and Medical Examiners of Washington State - from the Washington Association of Coroners and Medical Examiner's Web site.

Coroner/Medical Examiner Professional Organizations

Back to Contents

County Executive

The elected office of county executive exists only in the four charter counties, King, Pierce, Snohomish, and Whatcom, which have adopted "home rule" charters providing for a council-executive form of government. There are no constitutional or state statutory provisions addressing the position of county executive. The authority and duties of the county executive can only be determined by a review of the individual county charters. In general, counties adopting the council-executive form of government have a county council which serves as a legislative body establishing policy and an elected executive responsible for the implementation of council policies and the day-to-day administration of county government functions and services. Administrative functions performed by the board of county commissioners in noncharter counties are delegated to the county executive in the charter or by individual council ordinances and resolutions codified in the county code.

Some noncharter counties operating under the commission form of government have created the appointed position of county administrator. The county administrator performs functions similar to a county executive; however, the position of county administrator is not an elective office.

Reference Sources

  • Statutory and Constitutional Provisions

County Charters

Back to Contents

Prosecuting Attorney

The county prosecuting attorney has major responsibilities as the legal representative of the state and counties in actions and proceedings before the courts and other judicial officers. The prosecuting attorney is the legal advisor and attorney for all county elected and appointed officials. The prosecuting attorney prosecutes violators of state law and county code in the county superior and district courts and appears for and represents the state and county in other types of criminal and civil actions. The prosecuting attorney represents the county whenever the county is a party to a legal action and acts as general legal advisor to all county officers. The state legislature has restricted the ability of the board of commissioners or county council to contract with any other attorney to perform any of the functions of the prosecuting attorney and any contract must be approved by the presiding judge of the county superior court.

The county prosecutor has other statutory responsibilities such as reporting, election administration, including preparation of ballot titles for county measures and canvassing election returns, acting as ex-officio coroner in counties under 40,000, and maintaining the county law library in counties with a population of less than 8,000.

The prosecuting attorney has an important role as part of the state judicial system and is a quasi-judicial officer. The office of prosecuting attorney is unique among county elected officials in that the elected status and authority and responsibility of the prosecuting attorney cannot be changed by county "home rule" charter. The prosecuting attorney has the same role in charter and noncharter counties. Individual county prosecutors are required members for a number of state boards and commissions such as the Criminal Justice Training Commission, the Washington State Patrol Criminal Justice Advisory Council and Organized Crime Unit Oversight Committee, the Death Investigation Council, and other groups relating to judicial and criminal justice issues.

Reference Sources

  • Statutory and Constitutional Provisions
  • Court Decisions
  • Attorney General Opinions

      AGO 1986 No. 1
      A legislative authority of a home rule county may condition its appropriation to the prosecuting attorney's office on a particular allocation of resources within the prosecuting attorney's office but may not, by its appropriation, effectively prevent the prosecuting attorney from performing statutory duties.

  • Selected MRSC Library Holdings - County Prosecuting Attorney

      Prosecutor's Civil Manual, Washington Association of Prosecuting Attorneys (WAPA), 1989, 1999, 2000

County Prosecuting Attorney Professional Organizations and Resources

Back to Contents

Sheriff

The county sheriff is the chief executive officer and conservator of the peace of the county. The sheriff has a number of duties relating to: (1) law enforcement and public safety, (2) jails and confinement facilities, and (3) civil functions for the court system. Counties have the option of creating a department of corrections to be in charge of the county jail rather than the sheriff. Many county sheriffs are involved in county emergency services functions, and a sheriff may serve as the Director of Emergency Services for the county. Most employees in the sheriff's office are covered by a statutory civil service system establishing a merit system for employment.

Reference Sources

  • Statutory and Constitutional Provisions
  • Attorney General Opinions

      AGO 1990 No. 4
      The Attorney General concludes that the county sheriff's duty to enforce state law applies equally in incorporated and unincorporated areas of the county; however, the sheriff is not obligated to provide a specific level of police services within cities and towns. Cities and towns are authorized under state law to contract with the county to provide law enforcement services.

Sheriff/Police Chief Professional Organizations and Resources

Back to Contents

Treasurer

The county treasurer is the custodian of the county's money and the administrator of the county's financial transactions. In addition to services for the county, the county treasurer provides financial services to special purpose districts and other units of local government, including the responsibility to receipt, disburse, invest and account for the funds of each of these entities. The treasurer receives and disburses funds, invests funds held and maintains financial records in accordance with accepted accounting principles. The county treasurer is also responsible for collection of various taxes, including legal proceedings to collect past due amounts. The county treasurer has other miscellaneous duties such as conducting bond sales and sales of surplus county property.

In some counties, especially charter counties, some of the duties of the county treasurer have been assigned to an executive finance department under an appointed county financial officer.

Reference Sources

County Treasurer Professional Organizations and Resources

Back to Contents