Group 1, General Government Services in Indian River County, Florida

Government Structure in Indian River County

Board of County Commissioners: Indian River County has a five-member Board of County Commissioners (the "Commission"). Each member represents one of five districts, elected at large (Countywide) for staggered terms of four years. The Chairman and Vice-Chairmen are elected by the Commission. A County Administrator is appointed by the Board and is responsible for administrative and fiscal control of the resources of the County.

Commissioner	Office	Term Expires
Fran B. Adams	Chairman	November 2000
Ruth M. Stanbridge	Member	November 2002
Kenneth R. Macht	Member	November 2000
John W. Tippin	Member	November 2002
Caroline D. Ginn	Vice Chairman	November 2000

The Commission apportions and levies Count taxes and controls the expenditure of all County funds. The budget year of the County runs from October 1 to the following September 30. Operating revenue is raised from ad valorem taxes, real and personal property taxes and user fees with supplements from state and federal sources.

The Commission operates a county road system, water and sewer system, solid waste disposal system, a public golf course and other recreational facilities, and has the power to establish, build, maintain, repair, protect and preserve these public facilities.

Supervisor of Elections: The Supervisor of Elections is the County officer responsible for overseeing all local elections. The office is the official custodian of the voter registration books, as well as any statements or other information required to be filed with it pursuant to Chapter 106, Florida Statutes.

The supervisor of Elections is a separately elected Constitutional Officer of the County. This Office administers elections and maintains voter registration records and statistics ensuring compliance with the federally mandated National Voter Registration Act. Administering of elections includes, but is not limited to, coordinating and training pollworkers, setting up precinct polling places, ballot printing and providing voting booths needed to comply with minimum standards per Florida statutes. The Office is operated as a separate entity setting its own policies and procedures, employee hiring and line item budget management.

Property Appraiser: The Property Appraiser is a separately elected Constitutional Officer of the County. This office is responsible for determinng the value of all property within the County, maintaining certain records connected with that responsibility and determining the tax on taxable property after taxes have been levied. The Property Appraiser Office is operated as a separate entity setting its own policies and procedures, employee hiring and line item budget management.

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Tax Collector: The Tax Collector is the County officer charged with the collection of ad valorem taxes levied by the County, the school board, any special taxing districts within the County, and all municipalities within the County.

The Tax Collector is a separately elected Constitutional Officer of the County. The Office's primary responsibilities are the collection and distribution of real estate and tangible taxes, an annual Tax Certificate Sale and the balancing and recapitulation of the tax roll. Other duties involve the issuance and/or renewal of motor vehicle license plates, vehicle and boat registrations, hunting and fishing licenses, occupational licenses and vehicle title transactions. The Tax Collector's Office is operated as a separate entity setting its own policies and procedures, employee hiring and line item budget management.

County Attorney: The primary responsibilities of the County Attorney's office are to defend the County in lawsuits, sue on behalf of the County for breach of contracts, prosecute any non-payers of outstanding county debts or leins, handle bond validations, process impact fee extensions and utility liens, release property owners who have satisfied their debts, file documents on the public records, review and approve all planning matters in regard to legal sufficiency, review and advise on language of proposed contracts and bid documents, negotiate on behalf of management on union matters, check excess tax sale refund requests, research the law to answer specific questions, review court costs for payment, draft all County ordinances and resolutions and sit in and advise the County staff and officials on in-house committees and boards.

The Clerk of the Circuit Court: The Clerk of the Circuit Court is responsible for maintaining the legal records of the County and collecting all monies related to civil and criminal matters. In its other capacity as Clerk to the Board, this office is also required to keep the minutes of all Board of County Commissioners meetings and act as accountant/auditor to the Board through its Finance Department.

The Clerk of the Circuit Court is a separately elected Constitutional Officer of the County. The Clerk also acts as the Clerk to the Board of County Commissioners. As Clerk of the Court, areas of support for the Judicial functions within the County include the Civil Division, Family Services, Felony Division, jury administration, Juvenile and Recording Divisions. Departments under the Clerk to the Board function include Finance, Information Systems and Board recording.

Services provided encompass accounting and auditing services, disbursements on contracts and purchases, investment of funds for the Clerk and the Board, information systems support (hardware and software) for court and accounting services and maintaining the "Official Records" for the Board.

County Administrator: The County Administrator's primary responsibility is to efficiently and effectively implement the goals and policies of the Board while meeting the needs of the citizens of Indian River County by providing an acceptable level of service and maintaining a solid financial position. The Administrator is directly responsible for all County departments except Constitutional Officers, the County Attorney, the BCC Executive Aide and their respective employees and staff.

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