In my travels around Kentucky, I have seen plenty of political signs and some have set me thinking. What exactly does a magistrate do? Or a constable? And how about a jailer? I am picturing a western movies at this point.
So, to help myself and maybe even some of you out there, I dug around to find out what these elected positions entail here in Kentucky, since we will be going to the polls later this month to cast our votes in the primary elections. Thanks to Franklin County for the summary of duties of elected officials. Red text = emphasis mine.
The County Judge Executive: Acts as the presiding officer and member of the Fiscal Court and serves as the county’s executive and administrative official.
The Jailer: Has custody of the county jail and all persons committed to the jail.
Magistrates: Serve as members of Fiscal Court and conduct business of the county.
Constables: Charged with and serve various court documents such as summons, civil actions, and warrants.
The Coroner: Investigates certain types of deaths and attempts to determine their cause.
The Property Valuation Administrator (PVA): Assesses or estimates the value of property for taxation purposes. (Has some secret formula you will never see to come up with your property value and subsequent taxes).
The County Attorney: Serves as the legal counsel for county government and represents the county when they are named as parties in legal actions.
The Sheriff: Acts as a law enforcement offical, collects real property taxes, provides court security, performs various other duties.
The County Clerk: Issues licenses, registers voters, and performs other election-related duties, files and stores various legal records and county records, and prepares county tax bills. (Is pleasant and always has a smile on their face).
There you have it folks. Hope you learned something. Remember to vote May 18 and be thankful we have a voice.