GOVERNMENT 101

Mayor:  Elected to a four-year term, serves as the executive of city. Mayors are chief administrative officials (responsible for day-to-day activities), but are kept in check with a city council who makes the decisions that the mayor carries out.  Most mayors in Indiana are elected in partisan elections. 

Town Manager: Appointed by the Town Council, administrative manager of a town responsible for day-to-day activities.

City or Town Council:  Elected, consists of a five-, seven-, or nine-member city (town) council. Council members serve four-year terms, and may be elected by geographic districts or at-large.   Council members vote to make decisions that mayors and town managers bring to the board and carry out.

Clerk (Clerk-Treasurer):  Elected,  manage town finances. Clerk/treasurers operate independently of the town council, but within the council-approved budget. 

City Court:  Elected, has jurisdiction over local civil matters and often petty criminal matters (as violations of city ordinances). 

Planning & Zoning Board of Appeals:  Appointed, hears and determines all zoning appeals and petitions.  The Board of Zoning Appeals is charged with upholding the cities/town zoning ordinance. Following a public hearing, the board evaluates all appeals for permit usage, developmental standards and the potential for special exceptions.   

Planning & Zoning (Building/Engineering) Department:  Employed by the city or town, responsible for engineering, current planning, building inspections, and municipal code enforcement.  Building permits, inspections, forms, applications, and ordinances can be found in this department.  

Redevelopment Commission (Authority):  Appointed, ensures redevelopment in under-resources/blighted areas or areas with barriers to development.  The commission could use techniques which can include real estate acquisition, site preparation and/or providing public infrastructure to the site. These techniques can be funded using Tax-Increment Financing and Redevelopment General Obligation Bonds that will benefit all taxable property within the boundaries of the Economic Development Area.  

Economic Development Commission (Board): Appointed,  aims to sustain and grow a city/town's economy by primarily focusing on business attraction, business retention and expansion.  The commission reviews issues related to tax abatement, and to hear economic development bond applicants. 

Plan(ning) Commission: Appointed, is a body of citizens that serve within local government, acting as an advisory group to the city (town) council and mayor (town manager) on issues and policies related to planning, land use regulation, and community development. Planning Commissioners act as citizen planners and work to develop plans and implementation policies that affect how their community manages changes in growth and development. 

Parks (& Rec) Department: Employed by the city or town, is responsible for hosting, maintaining, and sustaining parks and recreation activities for the city or town that the Parks Board sets.

Parks Board:  Appointed, establishes and implements policies and objectives for effective administration and implementation of the park and recreation projects, activities, and programs.

Police Department:  Employed, works with the community to reduce crime and violence and improve public safety. Police work closely with their local community to tailor policing response to the needs of that community. 

Police Merit Commission:  Appointed, is tasked with the selection, appointment, promotion, demotion, discipline or dismissal of the city or town's police officers.  Police Merit Commission manages all of the department’s employment and sworn functions. 

Fire Department:  Employed, provides fire and rescue protection and emergency medical services to the city or town. 

Fire Merit Commission: Appointed, is tasked with the appointment, promotion, and discipline of the town or city's Fire Department. Fire Merit Commission manages all of the department’s employment and sworn functions. 

Storm Water Department: Employed, manages the city (town) storm water utility.

Street Department: Employed, manages the city (town) streets through repair and maintenance. 

Electric Department: Employed,  supplies efficient and reliable power to the utility's customers. Citizens can pay bills through this department.

Sewer Department: Employed, Employed, manages the city (town) sewer infrastructure through repair and maintenance. Citizens can pay bills through this department.

Water Department: Employed, manages the city (town) water infrastructure through repair and maintenance. Citizens can pay bills through this department.

Public Works Department: Employed, are a broad category of infrastructure projects, financed and constructed by the city (town), for recreational, employment, and health and safety uses in the community. They can include public buildings , roads, railroads, bridges, pipelines, canals, ports, airports, public spaces, public services (water supply and treatment, sewage treatment, electrical grids, damns, or other, usually long-term, physical facilities. 

Utilities: Employed, manages the city (town) utilities infrastructure through repair and maintenance. Citizens can pay bills through this department.

Minutes and agendas for many of the boards and commission can be found on the links provided for each specific board or commission below.

Appointed - All the different boards are made up by appointments.  Appointments really vary depending on how the board was set up originally.  Almost all boards are either made up of elected officials, citizens appointed by elected officials (mayor or city council representatives), or the county political party leadership. 

County Commissioners:   Elected, have authority to pass ordinances in the following broad areas: controlling, maintaining, and supervising county property including courthouses, jails, and public offices and supervising construction and maintenance of roads, bridges and to provide for traffic control.  Counties have 3 commissioners, one from each district in the county.   WATCH HERE

County Council:  Elected,  has the ultimate decision-making power regarding fiscal affairs. The council has authority to view or review fiscal matters, determine proper policy, and set priorities for the allocation and expenditure of county funds WATCH HERE

Treasurer('s Office):  Elected, settles with township and city treasurers for taxes collected for the county and state. The treasurer collects real, personal and mobile home property taxes. Any citizen with tax issues would start at the Treasurer's Office for council.

Assessor('s Office): Elected,  assess the value of real and personal property within the county.  Any citizen with assessed property issues would start at the Treasurer's Office for council.

Auditor('s Office): Elected, serves as a secretary to the board of county commissioners and the clerk to the county council. The auditor has responsibility for keeping accounts and issuing checks for the county. As a result, the board of commissioners, the council and other officials often look to the auditor for day-to-day operational assistance, information and advice. 

Recorder('s Office): Elected,  maintains permanent public records involving a wide variety of instruments. These documents detail transactions involved in: real estate, mining, personal property, mortgages, liens, leases, subdivision plats, military discharges, personal bonds, etc. 

Surveyor('s Office): Elected, is a voting member of the Johnson County Plan Commission and a non-voting member of the Johnson County Drainage Board. The Surveyor also is a member of the Technical Review Committee, reviewing subdivisions plans, drainage plans, development plans and other matters that will come before the Plan Commission or the Drainage Board. The Surveyor’s office maintains information such as bench marks, USGS Topo Maps, Flood Zone Maps, Survey Records, historical aerial photography and legal drain information such as legal descriptions and watershed maps. Bench mark information, legal drain information and section corner information is available on this web site.

Drainage Board: Appointed, is responsible for regulation of county drains. Assessments for drainage improvements are calculated by the Surveyor's office.  The Drainage Board responds to and considers the investigations for all petitions regarding removal of obstructions in mutual drains and natural water courses. 

Soil & Water District: Employed & Appointed,  conserves and enhances soil, water, and other natural resources by coordinating with local partners to provide technical, financial, and educational opportunities in the county.

Coroner('s Office):  Elected, is responsible for determining the cause of death in cases involving violence, casualty, unexplained or suspicious circumstances or when the person has been found dead. 

Johnson County Health Department:  Appointed & Employed, include, among others, residential sewage disposal, retail food inspections, vital records, public health nursing, housing, vector control and nuisance issues. Their authority to address these public health and safety issues frequently exceeds that of the State Department of Health. The local health department is also an excellent source for technical information and assistance. 

Board of Health: Appointed, are part of state and local public health systems and are charged to address health promotion, disease prevention, and public protection. They provide the necessary guidance and oversight of a local health department to assure the community’s health. 
Boards of health are a powerful part of a local public health system. In Indiana, boards set policies, hire and fire the health officer, review operational data and challenge any organizational activity when necessary. Boards also have financial oversight of the local health department. 

Planning & Zoning Board of Appeals:  Appointed, hears and makes decisions regarding use variances, development standards variances, special exceptions, zoning ordinance violations and appeals of administrative decisions. The Board of Zoning Appeals typically meets on the fourth Tuesday of the month at 7:00 pm.  

Planning & Zoning Department:  Employed, serves the unincorporated area of the county by guiding land development and use; enforcing zoning, subdivision, and building codes; administering building permit and inspection services; promoting best practices in stormwater quality and management; and engaging county residents, businesses, institutions and other stakeholders in comprehensive planning initiatives. To that end, our staff serves and supports the citizens, the County Board of Commissioners, Plan Commission, Board of Zoning Appeals, Technical Review Committee, and Drainage Board. 

GIS Department:  Employed, builds a centralized infrastructure so that high quality Geographic Information System technology solutions are efficiently delivered to county departments, local governments, and the public. In addition, we also assign and coordinate the addressing of all buildings in the unincorporated areas of Johnson County . 

Weights & Measures:  Employed, promotes uniformity in U.S. weights and measures laws, regulations, and standards to achieve equity between buyers and sellers in the marketplace. This enhances consumer confidence, enables U.S. businesses to compete fairly at home and abroad, and strengthens the U.S. economy. 

Clerk:  Elected, must attend all sessions of the court, and keep a record of all judgments, orders, decrees of the court. Record of pleadings, motions, papers, and other evidence and court rulings are kept by the clerk. The clerk may grant motions and application for process, such as for the enforcement and execution of previous orders of the court, judgments by default, etc., and other proceedings which do not require the order or allowance of the court.   

The clerk serves as ex officio member and secretary of the county election board, and as a member and clerk of the county board of canvassers. The clerk appoints other members of the county election board and the board of canvassers. These appointments must be made, one from each of the two major political parties, from nominations filed in writing by the county chairmen of the parties. The clerk receives filings of candidacy from persons seeking certain elective public offices, and issues certificates of election to successful local candidates except in the cases of constitutional officers who receive commissions from the governor. 

Circuit  Court:  is a trial court located in every county in Indiana. They have unlimited jurisdiction over trial cases except when exclusive or concurrent jurisdiction is given to other courts. They also handle small claims cases and minor offenses in counties where a superior court is absent.  (Judge elected.)

Juvenile Court:  is a special court to deal with minors who have been accused of violating a criminal statute. (Judge elected.)

Superior Court:  is a general jurisdiction trial court within the state that handle all trial cases and can establish small claims cases and minor offense divisions. Nearly all counties in Indiana have a superior court in addition to their circuit courts.  (Judges elected.  Four superior courts reside in Johnson County.)

Redevelopment Commission:  Appointed, ensures redevelopment in under-resources/blighted areas or areas with barriers to development.  The commission could use techniques which can include real estate acquisition, site preparation and/or providing public infrastructure to the site. These techniques can be funded using Tax-Increment Financing and Redevelopment General Obligation Bonds that will benefit all taxable property within the boundaries of the Economic Development Area.   WATCH HERE

Plan Commission: Appointed, is an advisory body to the Board of Commissioners. The Plan Commission reviews development proposals (e.g. subdivisions and rezonings) and conducts comprehensive land use planning for the county. In this role, the Plan Commission utilizes the help of the staff of the Department of Planning and Zoning and the Technical Review Committee.

The Plan Commission generally meets on the fourth Monday of each month at 6:00 pm in the Auditorium of the Johnson County Courthouse Annex.

Parks Board:  Appointed, establishes and implements policies and objectives for effective administration and implementation of the park and recreation projects, activities, and programs.

Sheriff: Elected, are sworn police officers with the powers to make arrest, perform criminal investigations, traffic patrol, investigate accidents, detaining prisoners in the county jail and transportation of prisoners. The Sheriff is also responsible for the collection of unpaid taxes as well as the selling of foreclosed homes and has a pivotal role in disaster preparedness. 

Fire Protection Board: (Vacancies available) Appointed, has specific powers and duties which are spelled out in I.C. 36-8-11-15 including the power to exercise general supervision of, and make regulations for the administration of the district’s affairs, and the capacity to sue and be sued. 

Convention, Visitor, and Tourism Board: Employed and appointed, markets the county as a tourism destination using the brand name Festival Country Indiana.

I want to be on a county board Form County government is actively seeking citizens that want to be involved in local government by being on a county board.

Minutes and agendas for many of the boards and commission can be found on the links provided for each specific board or commission below.

Appointed - All the different boards are made up by appointments.  Appointments really vary depending on how the board was set up originally.  Almost all boards are either made up of elected officials, citizens appointed by elected officials (mayor or city council representatives), or the county political party leadership. 

How County Government Works Resource

Governor:   Elected in 4-year term, is responsible for overseeing the day-to-day management of the functions of many agencies of the Indiana state government. The governor also shares power with other statewide executive officers, who manage other state government agencies. 

Lieutenant Governor:  Elected in 4-year term, serves as the president of the Indiana Senate, become acting governor during the incapacity of the governor, and become governor should the incumbent governor resign, die in office, or be impeached and removed from office.  

Attorney General: Elected in 4-year term, is the attorney for the State of Indiana. The Office represents the State of Indiana in cases involving the state's interest and provides legal defense to state officials or agencies in court, advises the Governor, members of the Legislature, other state officials, and county prosecutors on legal issues, gives formal legal advisory opinions on constitutional or legal questions at the request of designated public officials and represents teachers in court in school discipline lawsuits where they were acting within their school policy. 

Auditor: Elected in 4-year term, serves as the state's chief financial officer and is in charge of the oversight of state funds and revenue. 

Secretary of State:  Elected in 4-year term, oversees four divisions, and is the third highest constitutional office of the state government. The Secretary serves as the State's chief election officer, enforces state securities regulations, regulates automobile dealerships in Indiana, and manages the state business services division.  

Treasurer:  Elected in 4-year term, is responsible for managing the finances of the U.S. state of Indiana.

The General Assembly:  Elected, is responsible for enacting the laws by which the state of Indiana is governed The two houses of the General Assembly (House and Senate) were created at the time Indiana became a state in 1816. The current makeup of the General Assembly, consisting of 100 Representatives serving 2-year terms and 50 Senators serving 4-year terms, was established in the Constitution of 1851. 

Senate:  is one part of the Indiana General Assembly. The Senate is composed of 50 members representing an equal number of constituent districts. Senators serve four-year terms without term limits. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the average State Senator represents 129,676 people. 

House of Representatives:  is one part of the Indiana General Assembly. The House is composed of 100 members representing an equal number of constituent districts. House members serve two-year terms without term limits. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, each State House district contains an average of 64,838 people. 

State Judicial System:   The constitution gives the judicial power of the state to a Supreme Court, a Court of Appeals, circuit courts, and any other courts that the General Assembly sets up (Indiana Constitution, Article 7, §1). There are two kinds of Indiana state courts: trial courts and appellate courts. 

Resource on Indiana State and County Judicial System

President:   Elected in 4-year term,  is both the head of state and head of government of the United States of America, and Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces. The President is responsible for the execution and enforcement of the laws created by Congress. Fifteen executive departments — each led by an appointed member of the President’s Cabinet — carry out the day-to-day administration of the federal government. 

Vice President:  Elected in 4-year term, is to be ready at a moment’s notice to assume the Presidency if the President is unable to perform his or her duties. This can be because of the President’s death, resignation, or temporary incapacitation, or if the Vice President and a majority of the Cabinet judge that the President is no longer able to discharge the duties of the presidency.

The Vice President also serves as the President of the United States Senate, where he or she casts the deciding vote in the case of a tie. Except in the case of tie-breaking votes, the Vice President rarely actually presides over the Senate. Instead, the Senate selects one of their own members, usually junior members of the majority party, to preside over the Senate each day.

Congress:  Elected, is made up of the House and Senate, known collectively as the Congress. Among other powers, the legislative branch makes all laws, declares war, regulates interstate and foreign commerce and controls taxing and spending policies. 

Senate:  

The Senate is composed of 100 Senators, 2 for each state. Until the ratification of the 17th Amendment in 1913, Senators were chosen by state legislatures, not by popular vote. Since then, they have been elected to six-year terms by the people of each state. Senators’ terms are staggered so that about one-third of the Senate is up for reelection every two years. Senators must be 30 years of age, U.S. citizens for at least nine years, and residents of the state they represent.

The Vice President of the United States serves as President of the Senate and may cast the decisive vote in the event of a tie in the Senate.

The Senate has the sole power to confirm those of the President’s appointments that require consent, and to provide advice and consent to ratify treaties. There are, however, two exceptions to this rule: the House must also approve appointments to the Vice Presidency and any treaty that involves foreign trade. The Senate also tries impeachment cases for federal officials referred to it by the House.

In order to pass legislation and send it to the President for his or her signature, both the House and the Senate must pass the same bill by majority vote. If the President vetoes a bill, they may override his veto by passing the bill again in each chamber with at least two-thirds of each body voting in favor. (www.whitehouse.gov)

House of Representatives:   

The House of Representatives is made up of 435 elected members, divided among the 50 states in proportion to their total population. In addition, there are 6 non-voting members, representing the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and four other territories of the United States: American Samoa, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands. The presiding officer of the chamber is the Speaker of the House, elected by the Representatives. He or she is third in the line of succession to the Presidency.

Members of the House are elected every two years and must be 25 years of age, a U.S. citizen for at least seven years, and a resident of the state (but not necessarily the district) they represent.

The House has several powers assigned exclusively to it, including the power to initiate revenue bills, impeach federal officials, and elect the President in the case of an Electoral College tie. (www.whitehouse.gov)

Judicial Branch:  Appointed by Executive and Legislative branches, interprets the meaning of laws, applies laws to individual cases, and decides if laws violate the Constitution. It is comprised of the Supreme Court and other federal courts. 

Branches of Government Resource