Title: Commissioners Court Records, 1888-1910
ID: 01/CR71
Creator: Commissioners Court
Extent: 0.5 Cubic Feet
Date Acquired: 08/28/2009
The collection consists of records of the Road Overseers. Road Overseers were appointed by Commissioners to keep the roads, bridges, and causeways in each precinct clear of obstructions and in good repair.
During the Republic of Texas, the County Board was composed of the Chief Justice (County Judge) and the Justices of the Peace of the county; under the constitutions of 1845, 1861, and 1866, it was composed of the Chief Justice and four elective Commissioners; and under the Constitution of 1869, of any three of the five Justices of the Peace of the county. The Commissioners Court, as established by the Constitution of 1876, was composed of the County Judge as presiding officer, and four Commissioners elected from precincts for two-year terms. A constitutional amendment adopted in 1954 changed the term of office to four years.
In Travis County, each of the commissioners is elected to a four-year term by the citizens of one of the four precincts into which the county is divided, and the County Judge is elected to a four-year term by the county voters at large. The Commissioners Court acts through “orders” adopted by vote of the Commissioners Court meeting in session. The District Courts of Texas have supervisory jurisdiction over the Commissioners Court, and persons aggrieved by a Commissioners Court order may appeal the order to the District Court of Travis County.
The Commissioners Court has none of the functions of a court but is the general governing body of the county. It is not to be confused with the constitutional county court, which is a separate body entirely, over which the county judge is the sole presiding member. The Commissioners Court functions as both the legislative and executive branch of county government.
The Commissioners Court controls county policy through its fiscal powers. The fiscal powers of the Commissioners Court include budgetary control over all county offices, including the offices of other elected officials; supervision of the expenditures of all county money; levying and collecting taxes for county purposes; approval of the county’s annual tax rate and tax roll; and the issuance of bonds, subject to public approval, for the construction of buildings, roads, and the like. Other duties of the commissioners include general administrative authority, the appointment of department heads, the administration of the Law Library Fund, the location of elections and justice courts and justice precinct boundaries, and county road maintenance.
In addition to serving as the county’s governing body, the Commissioners Court has ultimate responsibility for managing the operations of the county. The Commissioners Court is organized into five functional areas, and the day-to-day operation of each functional area is overseen by the executive manager or coordinator for that area.
Related Materials: Most records of the Commissioners Court are maintained by the County Clerk's Office. For more information please see http://www.co.travis.tx.us/county_clerk/default.asp.
Preferred Citation: Commissioners Court Records, Travis County Archives, Austin, Texas
