Texas County Information

The Texas Association of Counties have a nice website that details a lot of useful information about Texas counties.

This link is to the 2007 salary survey of county officials. (PDF file)

This link is to the job description of a county commissioner in Texas.  The ubiquitous ‘other duties as required’ is of course present, but I give you the list (from the TAC website):

Among other responsibilities, the commissioners court:

• Sets the yearly property tax rate and approves the budget and employment level for the county;
  
• Sets commissioners and justice of the peace precinct boundaries;
  
• Calls, conducts and certifies elections, including bond elections;
  
• Sets employment and benefit policy;
  
• Establishes long-range thoroughfare, open space, land use, financial and law enforcement/jail needs plans;
  
• Acquires property for rights-of-way or other uses determined to be in the public’s best interest;
  
• Reviews and approve subdivision platting and wastewater treatment for rural areas;
  
• Provides rural ambulance services and subsidizes rural fire protection;
  
• Oversees the construction, maintenance and improvement of county roads and bridges;
  
• Appoints non-elected department heads and standing committees;
  
• Supervises and controls the county courthouse, county buildings and facilities;
  
• Adopts a county budget;
  
• Determines county tax rates;
  
• Fills vacancies in elective and appointive positions; and
  
• Has exclusive authority to authorize contracts in the name of the county.