Some services provided by the county are:

 Operate courts and jails

 Run hospitals

 Offer mental health services

 Provide clean water

Most of this money for the county comes from sales

tax.

property taxes- taxes that people or businesses pay on land and buildings they own inside the county.

Counties raise money by charging fees for services the

county provides such as garbage collection.

Running elections is an example of an unfunded mandate for a county- its ordered but not paid for

Under Home Rule, counties have the power to make

decisions for themselves about what services to provide.

Those states follow Dillon’s Rule, which says that a county must get authority from the state legislature before it can provide services.

County citizens elect several people to sit on a commission (also called a board). This board has some “legislative” power

Under this system, the commission gives

some of its “executive” power to an administrator. The commission chooses the

administrator and has the power to fire that person.

Under this system, an elected person separate from the

commission has the county’s “executive” power. This executive can sometimes veto

decisions the board makes.

Baldwin County has a Commission only type of government.