 |
| Photo #1 |
Bates County is one of 3600 counties in the United States. The concept of county government was proposed by Thomas Jefferson who believed that the closer government is to the people the better government works.
Bates County is one of 114 counties in Missouri. Eighty counties are considered small counties and 20 of those are township counties. Bates County with 24 townships has by far the most townships in the state. (The smallest township county is Stoddard with 7 and the average is 15 townships). In all counties, except township counties, the Collector and Treasurer's office are separate offices with two separate office holders. The county takes care of all of the 700 bridges that require inspection and repair every year, and maintains countless culverts and also coordinates funding for the 24 townships.
The County services include County Administrative Offices, Courts and Public Safety . "Administrative Offices" are: the Assessor, Clerk, Recorder of Deeds, Surveyor/Engineer, Coroner, Collector/Treasurer, Public Administrator, County Road and Bridge, and County Commission. The "Courts" include Circuit Clerk, Circuit Judge, Associate Circuit Judge, Juvenile Court, and Prosecuting Attorney. "Public safety" consists of the County Sherriff's Office, County Jail, and Emergency Management.
County affiliated services include 24 Township Boards, the County Hospital, County Health Department, the Opportunity Center (BCI,) the University of Missouri Extension Office, and Senior Services (the Senior Center).
Bates County has 100 employees which is about three times more employees than counties of similar size. Yet less than 20% of Bates County appropriations come from local taxes. Most of the funding comes from fees and contracts for services provided by county offices. The Sherriff's office and Jail use less than 7% of local taxpayer monies for funding and yet the Sheriff statutorily is paid the same as any other small county sheriff in the state.
Due to the fact that we are township organized and have a federal prisoner contract, all of the office holders and employees of the county have many more duties but work for approximately the same compensation as any other small county in the state.
County Government Works and Bates County Works.
