What Does a County Supervisor Do?

A common question I get is "What does a county supervisor do?"

1.  We set the budget for the county.

2. We set county policy.

3.  We lobby the state legislature for funds.

4.  We lobby the state legislature to set state policy.

Budget

In setting the budget, I have always voted to use your money carefully to provide county services.  The county provides:

1. Police protection

2.  Ambulance service

3. County road maintenance

4. County Health Department

5. County Fair and Rampage

6. Court house services

County Policy

My motto in setting county policy is "What are we doing today to get us where we want to be tomorrow?" Our policies need to solve today's problems, but not create problems in the future.  If it's a good policy, it will not only be good today, but it will be good for many years.

Lobbying for funds

The state allocates money to the counties to provide services. As a supervisor I use the relationships I have established to lobby the legislators to continue funding Greenlee County.  The last year I was in office I lobbied to save Greenlee County $1,500,000 in additional costs that the state was trying to force on to the county. 

Setting State Policies

County supervisors have an  influence on the setting of state policies.  It is our job to see that the needs of our rural county are not forgotten at the state level.  I have used my relationships and connections to lobby the legislature to pass bills that our rural county needs.  

 I hope this helps you understand what a county supervisor does and why it is important to have a supervisor who can manage money well and work well with the state legislature.