What does a County Commissioner do?

Texas has 254 counties, each governed by a county commissioner’s court, which consists of four commissioners and a county judge. The commissioner’s court’s main job is to administer the business affairs of the county, including setting tax rates, making sure that tax assessments are assessed equally, preparing and adopting a budget for allocating the county’s funds, determining school districts, constructing and maintaining public highways, maintaining jails, and administering justice as required by the Texas Constitution.

Counties, however, only have as much power as the Texas Constitution or statute confers upon them. Essentially, counties were created by the Legislature to aid in discharging the state’s duties toward its inhabitants.

At its most basic level, a county commissioner serves as a “legislator” for any policies and procedures enacted at the county level. County commissioners help in adopting the details of these subjects by considering the input of their constituents and other authorities on specific policy issues.