The County Manager Plan.—In view of the large amount of executive work, requiring skill and experience, which is imposed upon the county boards, and especially in consideration of the fact that this executive work is steadily growing, it has been proposed that the boards should confine themselves to matters of general policy, leaving to a county manager the entire work of actual administration. In a few counties this proposal has been adopted. The county manager, a trained and highly-paid official, is appointed by the county board to purchase all materials and supplies, to hire labor, to prepare contracts for the construction of public buildings, and to attend to all the details which arise in connection with the board’s work. In this way, by concentrating authority in a single hand, a great deal of waste and inefficiency is avoided. The plan is in harmony with the principle that responsibility for purely executive work, particularly when it is of a technical character, should be entrusted to men who have special qualifications for performing it (see pp. 197-198).
County courts.
The County as a Judicial Area.—In the administration of justice the county plays an important part. County courts exist in nearly all the states, and although they form an integral part of the state judiciary they have jurisdiction over such matters within the county as the laws may provide. Both the organization and the jurisdiction of the county courts differ greatly from state to state. In some states each county has its own judge; in others there is one judge for a group of counties. This judge holds sessions in one county after another. The county court usually hears appeals from the local courts and has original jurisdiction in cases where a jury is in order. The probating of wills is in most cases a function of the county court. Appeals from its decisions may usually be carried to the higher tribunals of the state.
His functions.
The Sheriff.—Every county has a peace officer known as the sheriff, usually elected by the voters of the county. He is the chief guardian of the law and the right-arm of the county court. Historically this is the oldest office in the country. It goes back to the time of William the Conqueror or earlier, when the shire-reeve was the agent of the king in keeping law and order. Sheriffs have the right to appoint deputy-sheriffs whose duty it is to help preserve the public peace, to make arrests, and to serve court papers. Sometimes the sheriff and his deputies are paid regular salaries, but more often they obtain their remuneration from fees. The sheriff is the custodian of prisoners in the county jail; he summons the jurors to the court sessions and carries out all the judgments rendered by the court.
Work of the grand jury.
The Prosecuting Attorney.—Attached to every county court there is a legal officer who is commonly known as the prosecuting attorney or county attorney, usually elected by the people.[[61]] His chief duty is to conduct prosecutions before the county court. He investigates crimes, prepares the evidence, and usually lays the case, first of all, before a body known as the grand jury. This jury, as will later be explained, is selected by lot from among the voters of the county. It does not go into the question of guilt or innocence, but merely determines whether an accused person should be placed on trial before a trial jury in a county court. In some states it is not necessary for the prosecuting attorney to lay the case before the grand jury; he may merely file a sworn declaration, called an information or complaint, stating his belief that there is sufficient ground for placing the accused person on trial. Prosecuting attorneys everywhere have a good deal of discretion in the way of discontinuing or “nol-prossing” criminal cases.[[62]]
Other County Officers.—There are various other officers connected with county government. The county assessors go about the county and assess or value property for purposes of taxation. The county treasurer receives the taxes and pays the county’s bills. The county auditors inspect the financial accounts of all county officers. The registrar of deeds or recorder keeps books in which all deeds and mortgages on land are entered.[[63]] |The coroner.| The county coroner has the duty of holding an investigation or inquest whenever a death takes place under circumstances which excite suspicion of crime. For this purpose he summons a coroner’s jury of citizens to determine the facts. They do not determine guilt or innocence, but may recommend that a suspected person be arrested and held for trial. In some states the office of coroner has been abolished and its functions given to an appointive official known as the medical examiner, who is always a physician. In many counties there is a county superintendent of schools whose duties are indicated by his title. Practically all these officers are elected, usually for a short term of years.
The selection of county employees.
Civil Service Reform in Counties.—Besides the foregoing officers there are, in the service of county government, large numbers of subordinate officials and employees, including deputy-sheriffs, attendants in the jail and poorhouse, foremen on road construction, clerks in the county offices, and so on. All of these are still chosen, in most counties, under the spoils system. Positions on the county pay roll are given almost everywhere the reward of party or personal service. The merit system of selecting subordinate officials by competitive examination has made little or no progress in the counties of the United States although there is no good reason why it should not be used there as well as in the municipal, state, and national service. The county remains the last fortress of the spoils system because the people as a whole have not been fully awakened to the importance of its work and because the political influences which control county government have heretofore been strong enough to prevent the loss of patronage which the introduction of the merit system would entail.