Elected Officials
Ron C. Cross - Chairman
Ron L. Thigpen - Vice Chair
Trey Allen - Commissioner
J. Charles Allen, Jr - Commissioner
A. Scott Dean - Commissioner
Kay K. Allen - Tax Commissioner
Pat Hardaway - Probate Court Judge
Bobby Christine- Magistrate Court Judge
Vernon W. Collins - Coroner
Cindy Mason - Clerk of Superior Court
Clay N. Whittle - Sheriff

The Columbia County organizational structure is described in the following brief outline and chart.

HOW IT WORKS

A.  Electorate
The electorate consists of the registered voters in the County.  All the officials shown on line "B" are elected by the voters in the County.

B.  Elected Officials
The elected officials in Columbia County include the Probate Court Judge, Superior Court Clerk, Superior Court Judges, Magistrate Court Judge, Sheriff, Board of Commissioners, District Attorney, Coroner, and Tax Commissioner.

C.  State & Federal Agencies
Those offices funded in full or part by the State or Federal government are listed on line "C."  These offices provide services to County citizens and coordinate their activities with County Divisions.

D.  Commission-Appointed Boards & Authorities
To assist the Board of Commissioners and County divisions in performing their duties, County citizens are appointed by the Board of Commissioners to a wide variety of advisory boards and special-purpose authorities as listed on line "D."

E.  Commission-Appointed Positions
To carry out the programs of the Board of Commissioners, the officials listed on line "E" are appointed by the Commission.  The County Attorney and County Clerk coordinate their activities with the County Administrator. The County Administrator serves as the chief administrative officer of the County and directly supervises all County Division Directors.  The Administrator also coordinates activities and budgets with Elected Officials, agencies, boards, and authorities.

F.  County Commission Committees
The four committees listed on line "F" provide oversight to the County divisions listed on line "G."  Each committee has three members of the County Commission.  The committee members work closely with the County Administrator and the division(s) assigned to the committee.  Before an item is presented to the full Board of Commissioners for action, it is assigned to a Commission Committee for review and recommendation.

Each elected official, agency, board, authority, and County division is assigned to a committee for coordination and budget purposes.  For example, the Probate Court, shown on line "B" with a number 3 coordinates its budget activities with the Management and Financial Services Committee shown on line "F" also with a number 3.

G.  County Departments
The Divisions listed on line "G" report directly to the County Administrator and Board of Commissioners. All activities requiring Board of Commissioners approval are presented first to the appropriate Commission Committee for review and recommendation.

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Click here to view Columbia County Organization Chart