have had some discussion lately about whether we should have an elected or appointed sheriff. The discussion, which could never seem to be discussed on its merit as long as personalities are so strong, is back on hold now. But as I ponder the discussion, I wonder if we haven’t missed the bigger question: “Do we even need a Ramsey [or any other] County?
What does a county really do? It hosts district courts, administers jails and workhouses, administers welfare, processes real estate titles, issues birth, death, and marriage certificates, assesses and collects taxes, hires medical examiners [coroners], serves papers, owns and manages roads and parks that the state and more local governments don’t own or manage, holds tax forfeited property for the state, and a few other functions.
Counties do elect Boards of Commissioners so they would seem to be close to the people. But so much that county boards do is dictated, not by the will of the electorate, but by the funding strings that come with the funds. And whatever power they have is determined by the state and if the county pols make too many “wrong” choices, their choice can be taken away.
Perhaps this could all be done just as well and less expensively by the state through some sort of administrative districts.
This post is not a call for change. That may come later. This is just the posing of a question. I would like to see what others think.
And there is something else to remember: Counties also provide a way for us to know where weather warnings are in play.
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2 comments:
When I was a kid near Moorhead we had a neighbor couple who cared for foster children. I really believe that more than one of them grew into better people than they would have if they had not been cared for by her.
Counties handle foster care. I cannot imagine that she and her husband would have ever made a trip to St.Paul to get the foster care permit.
Gus
Thank you for the note.
I did not give a thorough list of what counties do, partly because I don’t know them all. I had hoped that commenters could educate me a bit. I guess I had only included foster care to the degree that I had mentioned welfare.
But I do suspect that this could be handled by the state. Not everything the state does comes out of Saint Paul or even the Saint Paul metropolitan area. I guess what I am wondering is is whether there are enough things done by counties on their own initiative or by their own volition to justify their expense and warrant our continuing to maintain them.
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