County government at work, indeed
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EmailMichigan counties provide vital health, safety, and welfare services. An updated resource helps officials and residents better understand the roles of county departments, agencies, and commissions and how they serve and support residents locally.
Michigan’s 83 counties are diverse in size: Benzie County is the smallest geographically at just 316 square miles, while the largest is Marquette County at 1,828 square miles. Looking at population, Keweenaw County has roughly 2,200 people whereas Wayne County has roughly 1.8 million people, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Equally diverse are the services and programs that Michigan’s counties offer their residents.
Some might perceive county government functioning as an extension of state government, and that county governments must therefore be largely similar to one another. It is true that all county prosecutors enforce state criminal laws, county registers of deeds maintain custody of land records and other property related documents, county clerks administer elections for the state, and county-based courts handle family matters, traffic violations and estate matters, to name a few. These offices perform these functions for the general well-being of the state, and when someone mentions state mandates in county government, this is what they are most likely referring to.
At the same time, the Michigan Constitution states, “Boards of [commissioners] shall have legislative, administrative and such other powers and duties as provided by law” (Article VII, Section 8). There are numerous enabling acts, or permissive laws, that authorize counties to provide other services and define the options or minimum requirements for providing those services. Thus, as units of local government, counties offer many programs and services that benefit primarily local populations within the county.
Parks and recreation programs, county airports, and county veteran services are supported by counties because residents want and need them. The state doesn’t require counties to provide these programs, but residents might demand them, and counties are sometimes the only entities that can practically do so. From this view, such “mandates of the people” require counties to function as local governments – responding to community needs. Acting as local governments is where most of the diversity in programs and services between counties comes from.
Fortunately, Michigan State University Extension offers a resource for those that need or want to better understand the mandated and optional services and programs of county government in Michigan. Whether a resident new to the county, a recently elected county commissioner, or a county administrator exploring comparable county operations, County Government at Work is a helpful resource organized around four functional groupings:
- County Administration and Finance
- Health and Human Services
- Public Safety and Courts
- Physical and Economic Development
Indeed, county government is at work for their respective residents and the State of Michigan as a whole. Now updated and available in its Eighteenth Edition, the County Government at Work resource continues to provide the background and details for individuals to better understand just how county government is at work for them.
View County Government at Work Resource
For a more comprehensive resource, readers are referred to the Guide to Michigan County Government, Fifth Edition, which can be ordered through the MSU Extension bookstore at shop.msu.edu.