PORT ANGELES — Counties are an integral part of America’s political system, but how they actually operate remains largely a mystery to most of the public, according to Clallam County Administrator Todd Mielke.
Mielke was hired as county administrator in July after a long career in public service including as a county commissioner and a state representative from the Spokane area. Speaking to a meeting of Coffee with Colleen, with Colleen McAleer, Clallam County Economic Development Council executive director, Mielke said America’s county system is modeled after a feudal system of government originally developed in Italy.
“County government and county governance in the United States was really based on the European feudal system,” Mielke said.
Not wanting region leaders to become too powerful, central governments — typically monarchs —would spread power out across several officials, which is what county governments do.
“County government is spread across multiple elected officials and each one with its own defined role in what they do,” Mielke said.
While multiple elected officials do limit the concentration of power, Mielke noted that only county commissioners are able to control the budget and therefore exercise a good deal of authority.
Counties are created through the state constitution, Mielke said, and while cities and towns may choose to disincorporate from a county if they choose, county governments don’t have the same option.
There are, however, two kinds of counties in the U.S.; code counties and charter, or home rule, counties. Clallam County became a home rule county in 1976 and is one of only seven charter counties in the state. Others are King County, the first in the state formed in 1969; Whatcom County (1979); Snohomish County (1980); Pierce County (1981); San Juan County (2006); and Clark County (2015).
Code counties are allowed to fulfill only the functions specifically designated to them by the state Legislature, while home-rule counties are allowed functions that aren’t specifically prohibited by the Legislature.
Being a home rule county is what allows Clallam County to have the nation’s only elected director of community development, Mielke said. But there are several state statutes that designate land use decisions to the commissioners, leading to potential conflicts between the county charter and state law.
“What the Washington Supreme Court ruled is that counties are agencies of the state. They’re an extension of the state government to carry out and perform the functions of state government at the local level,” Mielke said.
Several functions of the state are carried out by county government. These include courts, law enforcement, elections and property tax collection, among others.
Counties often provide other services such as utilities to residents living outside city limits, but many of the county’s functions are provided to all regardless of where they live, Mielke said.
There are several state laws and regulations that govern what counties can do, and their governance can be extremely complicated.
“These are complex organizations that have to cover a lot of responsibilities. It is not a flippant remark when we say that the counties are subject to an extreme number of mandates or requirements,” Mielke said.
“There will probably never be enough resources to deal with all of these in their fullness, so commissioners are always trying to figure out how to prioritize.”
One of the problems with how counties function in Washington state, Mielke said, is how they fund their various mandates. States and cities typically have more revenue streams: property and sales tax but also fees, licenses, business and utility taxes. But counties generally have only sales and property taxes as well as shared revenue from timber lands or grants.
“The revenue structure for counties, some would say, is an unsustainable model,” Mielke said. “The reason why is costs, when you include inflation, typically grow faster than revenues.
Revenues typically grow at 3 percent to 4 percent while costs tend to grow at 6 percent to 8 percent, Mielke said.
Having multiple elected officials can make trying to run a county difficult, Mielke said, and he hopes voters will consider people who have a collaborative approach to leadership when voting.
“Clallam County has a great reputation across the state for having collaborative leaders, and that was one of my attractions to come here,” Mielke said.
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Reporter Peter Segall can be reached at peter.segall@peninsuladailynews.com.
