So if you personally identified with the introduction and not knowing what a city commissioner is, have no fear! We weren’t planning on leaving you out to dry for long. Below is a list of some of the common positions you’ll find within a local government (including Grand Rapids!).
So… what are the elected roles for the city of Grand Rapids?
Mayor- the CEO of the municipality (think town or city), mayors have a variety of responsibilities ranging from financial planning to public safety management. However, there isn’t a definitive list of responsibilities- it largely depends on local laws. In Grand Rapids, the position is weaker and 20 hours per week is the expected mayoral workload.
Ward Commissioner- Commissioners are elected by the people within their ward (basically just a chunk of the city) to write and amend local laws. Grand Rapids decided to use the term ‘ward commissioner’ to describe this role, but in many cities they’re simply referred to as city commissioners. In addition, many ‘commissioner’ type roles are a blend of writing laws and executing them.
City Comptroller- A comptroller is the ‘head accountant’ of the city. They typically keep track of financial records, creating balance sheets, and monitoring internal compliance (for some reason I always picture a hall monitor mixed with an accountant). If thinking of the mayor as the CEO is a helpful analogy, then think of the comptroller as the CFO.
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What are the roles that oversee Kent County then?
District Commissioner– Glance back up to Ward Commissioner, but do a mental exercise where you replace ward with district. Districts are much bigger than wards and encompass large swaths of the county. Together, they make local laws about said county.
Drain Commissioner– Yes, Kent County has an elected person to oversee… drains? Michigan is pretty unique with this one. Later we’re going to do a more in-depth dive on this role (we swear it’s more interesting than it sounds), but, for now just know that this is the person responsible for doing damage control when storm water gets out of hand.
Prosecuting Attorney- On a county level, the prosecuting attorney represents the the citizens of Kent County in court in the event that they are victims of crime.
Sheriff- Sheriffs are elected to serve both their constituencies, their state’s constitution, and the United States Constitution. What this means in practice is overseeing the law enforcement in her county, similar to how the police chief of a city operates (Detective Sergeant Hank Voight for our Chicago P.D. watchers).
It is an elected position so that the sheriff remains accountable to the citizens. Just as the city comptroller internally audits and reviews the city’s financial documents, a sheriff makes sure law enforcement is following correct procedure… and with great incentive! If law enforcement messes up it tarnishes the sheriff’s record, and s/he has to face the people when it comes to re-election!
Treasurer- If you thought money when you saw treasure, that would be correct. The Treasurer of a county collects taxes on property and trailers as its main source of revenue. Those funds typically will be invested in the county- In the case of the glorious county of Kent, Treasurer Parrish has created a pool of resources that local governments can access for a safe, sustainable investment. This makes sure that localities can keep growing in the long term!
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There’s a quick rundown of the common positions in local politics, as well as a high-level overview of their responsibilities. But who is my ward commissioner? What are their values and qualifications? Are they even human?
If you think I’m kidding about that last one I’m not. Sweet Tart is a cat with a lot of political ambition, taking the mayoral election of Omena, Michigan paws down. Check out that story here.
Does Grand Rapids have humans elected to its local government? Subscribe for future content. My (Grayson here) next post will be detailing the current elected officials more closely.
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