Everyone knows the President is the leader of the country, and the Governor is leader of a state. Everyone also knows that members of the House and Senate (on both the national and state level) make laws. But once you go below those offices, do you know who’s there, what they do, and how they impact the daily lives of normal folks on things like taxes and regulations?
Here are Five Fast Facts on local offices with the power to affect you:
- 🌉 County Commissioner - This could be an individual or a board of commissioners, but either way it’s the key policy maker(s) for a county.They take care of administration for the county, including things like maintenance on county buildings, roads, and bridges. They also do things like approve the budget and set tax rates, and they set salaries, benefits, and payroll for county employees. It’s kinda like the President of the county!
- 🏫 School Board - There are almost 14,000 public school districts in the US, and each one is governed by a school board. Different district boards are different sizes, but most are elected by the citizens (a few are appointed by state or local officials). School boards decide academic standards and curricula, set the budget, and address legal/financial issues including hiring the superintendent. Most are unpaid volunteers, but doing it for the children is priceless, right?
- 🏛️ Mayor - There are a lot of different kinds of city government structures. In some, the Mayor is like the President of the city; in others, the Mayor is largely ceremonial with little real power. Most of the time, they lead a lot of the administration of the city, including things like managing police, fire, housing, and transportation. Potholes are, by definition, no one’s responsibility.
- 💲 City Treasurer - The City Treasurer is responsible for managing the finances of a city. He or she will typically oversee revenue collection (i.e. TAXES), investments, payments, and reporting, and needs to understand the tax code and policies. The Treasurer needs to make sound decisions or the city can fall into financial difficulty or failure to plan for growth. Don’t be stuck with two lanes when you really need four!
- 📣 City Council - The City Council is a group of elected officials who make decisions and enact policies for the city. They often work closely with the other officials mentioned above, and their decisions come in the form of public meetings or hearings. Gotta love transparency!
🔥Bottom line: All of these offices may be on your ballot in a couple of weeks. While it might seem like these positions just don’t matter, they actually do! Your local schools, taxes, roads, and much, much more all rely on the people holding these offices, and it makes a big difference to have someone with the people’s best interests in mind rather than a petty tyrant with a control complex! In fact, maybe YOU could do a great job at one of these…
What’s been your experience with your local elected officials?
Let us know by connecting with us on Facebook and Instagram! Also, remember to share this newsletter with your friends & coworkers!
Btw, If you’ve read this far and haven’t yet signed up for the weekly Paycheckology newsletter, CLICK HERE!
