So What Does A County Commissioner Do, Exactly?

There is a basic set of duties that comes with the job of County Commissioner. But for Jackson County to thrive through the coming years, we need more than the basics from leadership.

What are the basics?

The Board of Commissioners is Jackson County’s three-person governing body, with each Commissioner elected to a four-year term (two of the three seats are up for election this year and the third is halfway through its term). The Commissioners

Make laws (“ordinances”) that apply mainly to areas within the county but outside city limits.
Decide controversial land-use cases, particularly when a major development is proposed in a rural area.
Formulate and finalize the County’s annual budget. That sounds dry and bureaucratic, but in the real world, the budget is the county’s primary policy document. It is where trade-offs are made between funding, say, an additional sheriff’s deputy to patrol the roads, another mental health counselor, a paving project at the fairgrounds, a grant to non-profit youth programs, a modest expansion of library hours…
Serve on a variety of other policy-setting boards that focus on areas like transportation planning, job training and economic development
Hire and supervise the County Administrator, who in turn hires and supervises the directors of the County’s departments (here is the full list of county departments and services).
Receive concerns and complaints from county citizens who may be having trouble with their neighbors, or the county bureaucracy, with an eye -- if they’re doing their jobs well -- to finding solutions.

During stable, economically solid times, those duties were all we needed from a Jackson County Commissioner. Today we need more.

What we need beyond the basics.

Because demand for county services will continue to grow and available tax dollars will not, Commissioners have to push for ways deliver high-quality services for less money.

Inside County government, rejecting "we've always done it this way" thinking to continuously seek out for more efficiencies. Example: in 1989, Jeff persuaded county government to shift from private liability insurance to self-insurance, saving well over a million taxpayer dollars over time.
Outside county government, encouraging groups and citizens who are already solving problems. Example: the community group Mediation Works has developed programs for teenage offenders that in some cases offer better results at lower costs than Standard Operating Procedure.

Because so many Rogue Valley people give back to the community in so many ways, it’s time for Commissioners to step up as constructive partners in all kinds of civic projects. This might mean...

Convening the groups who've been working in isolation on parts of a broader goal. Example: An important step towards greater food security in Jackson County would be to pull together the leaders of the Farm Bureau, the community farming movement, 4H and FFA, OSU Extension Service, Master Gardeners, the Rogue Valley Growers Markets, Thrive, and the irrigation districts, to tap into their experience and ideas.
Finding challenge grants or loans to grassroots agencies dealing with homelessness, hunger, foreclosures, transportation, abuse of children or the elderly, transportation, looking for innovation that brings more bang for the buck.
Infusion of small amounts of public resources to let loose large amounts of community energy. Example: Jeff was deeply involved in saving Jackson County's remaining covered bridges in the late 80s, making sure heavy equipment from the Public Works Department was available at key moments. Although most of the credit goes to tenacious community volunteers, that small county involvement made a big difference.
Advocacy on issues beyond the county’s borders. Examples: some of the Valley's gravest problems -- foreclosures, skyrocketing college tuition, availability of health care, the possible shutdown or departure of Harry & David -- are outside county authority. Commissioners have a choice here: they can either say "sorry, that's not my job," or join with local officials and business leaders from other communities to press the legislature, Congress or absentee corporate owners for changes we need.

A real leader in these harsh times will keep pushing for solutions to serious community problems, no matter what the official job description says.