Drain commissioner
Encyclopedia
A drain commissioner is an elected official in counties
of the U.S. state
of Michigan
with a population over 12,000. In counties with a population under 12,000, the statutory duties and responsibilities of the drain commissioner are performed by the county's board of road commissioners
.
The office of drain commissioner is statutory, and is the only county-wide office not mandated or created by the Michigan Constitution
. Drain commissioners are elected on the partisan
ballot in presidential election years
for a term of four years. A recent change in state law allows the office to be renamed to water resources commissioner. http://legislature.mi.gov/doc.aspx?mcl-280-21
in 1837, as the state was largely undesirable with much of the land considered swamps and wetlands. The first bill passed by the Michigan Legislature
was a drainage act, which led to the creation of drain commissioners at the township
level. In 1897, township drain commissioners were abolished and the position was mandated in counties.
A proposal to amend the law establishing the office of drain commissioner by increasing the population threshold to 35,000 was introduced in the Michigan Legislature, but failed to ever move outside of its original committee assignment.
. It is the only elected office in Michigan that can directly levy taxes. While the powers of the drain commissioner are immense, the position has become little more than a figurehead
in some counties with salaries as low as a dollar per day.http://petoskeynews.com/articles/2004/12/09/news/local_regional/news03.txt http://www.petoskeynews.com/articles/2007/08/13/news/news01.txt http://www.petoskeynews.com/articles/2006/07/06/news/local_regional/news03.txt http://www.yourdailyglobe.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=1&ArticleID=36339&TM=69132.92
The drain commissioner is responsible for planning, developing, and maintaining surface water drainage
systems under Public Act 40 of 1956 http://legislature.mi.gov/doc.aspx?mcl-act-40-of-1956. The need for an elected official to handle drainage is facilitated by the high density of waterways and low-lying areas throughout the state.
A drain may be a natural or artificial creek or ditch, or a massive pipe for carrying storm water. The territory served by a particular drain, its watershed
, is typically organized as a drainage district, and the drain commissioner levies tax assessments and directs construction or maintenance of drains and culverts on behalf of each district. Drainage districts are public corporations, with legal rights similar to other political subdivisions of state government. A county may have dozens or even hundreds of drainage districts.
County (United States)
In the United States, a county is a geographic subdivision of a state , usually assigned some governmental authority. The term "county" is used in 48 of the 50 states; Louisiana is divided into parishes and Alaska into boroughs. Parishes and boroughs are called "county-equivalents" by the U.S...
of the U.S. state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
with a population over 12,000. In counties with a population under 12,000, the statutory duties and responsibilities of the drain commissioner are performed by the county's board of road commissioners
Administrative divisions of Michigan
The state of Michigan is largely divided in the same way as many other U.S. states, but is distinct in its usage of charter townships. Michigan ranks 13th among the fifty states in terms of the number of local governmental entities....
.
The office of drain commissioner is statutory, and is the only county-wide office not mandated or created by the Michigan Constitution
Michigan Constitution
The Constitution of the State of Michigan is the governing document of the U.S. state of Michigan. It describes the structure and function of the state's government....
. Drain commissioners are elected on the partisan
Partisan (political)
In politics, a partisan is a committed member of a political party. In multi-party systems, the term is widely understood to carry a negative connotation - referring to those who wholly support their party's policies and are perhaps even reluctant to acknowledge correctness on the part of their...
ballot in presidential election years
United States presidential election
Elections for President and Vice President of the United States are indirect elections in which voters cast ballots for a slate of electors of the U.S. Electoral College, who in turn directly elect the President and Vice President...
for a term of four years. A recent change in state law allows the office to be renamed to water resources commissioner. http://legislature.mi.gov/doc.aspx?mcl-280-21
Reform
The office of drain commissioner dates to Michigan's statehoodU.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
in 1837, as the state was largely undesirable with much of the land considered swamps and wetlands. The first bill passed by the Michigan Legislature
Michigan Legislature
The Michigan Legislature is the legislative assembly of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is organized as a bicameral body consisting of the Senate, the upper house, and the House of Representatives, the lower house. Article IV of the state's Constitution, adopted in 1963, defines the role of the...
was a drainage act, which led to the creation of drain commissioners at the township
Township
The word township is used to refer to different kinds of settlements in different countries. Township is generally associated with an urban area. However there are many exceptions to this rule. In Australia, the United States, and Canada, they may be settlements too small to be considered urban...
level. In 1897, township drain commissioners were abolished and the position was mandated in counties.
A proposal to amend the law establishing the office of drain commissioner by increasing the population threshold to 35,000 was introduced in the Michigan Legislature, but failed to ever move outside of its original committee assignment.
Duties and responsibilities
The power exercised by drain commissioners is second only to the county sheriffSheriff
A sheriff is in principle a legal official with responsibility for a county. In practice, the specific combination of legal, political, and ceremonial duties of a sheriff varies greatly from country to country....
. It is the only elected office in Michigan that can directly levy taxes. While the powers of the drain commissioner are immense, the position has become little more than a figurehead
Figurehead
A figurehead is a carved wooden decoration found at the prow of ships largely made between the 16th and 19th century.-History:Although earlier ships had often had some form of bow ornamentation A figurehead is a carved wooden decoration found at the prow of ships largely made between the 16th and...
in some counties with salaries as low as a dollar per day.http://petoskeynews.com/articles/2004/12/09/news/local_regional/news03.txt http://www.petoskeynews.com/articles/2007/08/13/news/news01.txt http://www.petoskeynews.com/articles/2006/07/06/news/local_regional/news03.txt http://www.yourdailyglobe.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=1&ArticleID=36339&TM=69132.92
The drain commissioner is responsible for planning, developing, and maintaining surface water drainage
Drainage
Drainage is the natural or artificial removal of surface and sub-surface water from an area. Many agricultural soils need drainage to improve production or to manage water supplies.-Early history:...
systems under Public Act 40 of 1956 http://legislature.mi.gov/doc.aspx?mcl-act-40-of-1956. The need for an elected official to handle drainage is facilitated by the high density of waterways and low-lying areas throughout the state.
A drain may be a natural or artificial creek or ditch, or a massive pipe for carrying storm water. The territory served by a particular drain, its watershed
Drainage basin
A drainage basin is an extent or an area of land where surface water from rain and melting snow or ice converges to a single point, usually the exit of the basin, where the waters join another waterbody, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea, or ocean...
, is typically organized as a drainage district, and the drain commissioner levies tax assessments and directs construction or maintenance of drains and culverts on behalf of each district. Drainage districts are public corporations, with legal rights similar to other political subdivisions of state government. A county may have dozens or even hundreds of drainage districts.
External links
- Michigan Association of County Drain Commissioners
- Barry County Drain Commissioner
- Calhoun County Drain Commissioner
- Cheboygan County Drain Commissioner
- Clinton County Drain Commissioner
- Eaton County Drain Commissioner
- Genesee County Drain Commissioner
- Ingham County Drain Commissioner
- Ionia County Drain Commissioner
- Iosco County Drain Commissioner
- Jackson County Drain Commissioner
- Kent County Drain Commissioner
- Lenawee County Drain Commissioner
- Marquette County Drain Commissioner
- Monroe County Drain Commissioner
- Oakland County Water Resources Commissioner
- Ottawa County Drain Commissioner
- St. Clair County Drain Commissioner
- St. Joseph County Drain Commissioner
- Tuscola County Drain Commissioner
- Washtenaw County Water Resources Commissioner
- Muskegon County Drain Commissioner