A short list of responsibilities of the Washington County Commission:
-
General Government
- Runs County elections
- Property tax assessments
- Rural zoning
- Public Safety & Justice (Jail, Courts, County Corrections, Elected Sheriff, Elected District Attorney)
- (Limited) Health & Human services
- (Limited) Affordable Housing services
- (Limited) Culture, Education, & Recreation
-
Unique County Services (3)
- Board for Clean Water Services, our urban area wide sewerage and stormwater agency
- Major roadways across the county: Murray Blvd, Cornell Road, Bethany Blvd, Baseline Road, Cedar Hills Blvd, Cornelius Pass Road, Tualatin Sherwood Road, Roy Rogers Road.
- Zoning for the urban unincorporated areas where ~30% of WA Co residents live in neighborhoods outside of cities
Additional Information about the Board of Commissioners:
Washington County is structured as a Council-Manager form of government as defined by a voter approved charter as well as requirements from the State of Oregon . It is led by a five-member elected Board of Commissioners. These five members include a Chair and four district Commissioners. The Chair is elected at-large by voters throughout all of Washington County. The population of the County is divided into four somewhat equal population geographic sub-areas to make up each of the Commissioner districts.
The Board of Commissioners has legislative responsibility and has designated administrative authority to a Board-appointed professional county administrator. In addition to making policy and program investment decisions for County-wide services and for urban unincorporated area districts, the Commissioners also serve as the governing board for Clean Water Services, a public utility providing wastewater, stormwater and other services to nearly 500,000 customers.
The Communities of Washington County
With a population of just over 600,000 people, Washington County includes the following cities: Banks, Beaverton, Cornelius, Durham, Forest Grove, Hillsboro, King City, Tigard, Tualatin, and Sherwood as well as small portions of the following cities: Gaston, Lake Oswego, Portland, River Grove and Wilsonville. Other named places, such as unincorporated suburban areas include Aloha, Bonny Slope, Bethany, Bull Mountain, Cedar Hill, Cedar Mill, Metzger, Raleigh Hills, and West Slope.