All About County Commissioners
By Brody Coulter
Many counties across the country have a county commissioner board. However, few people know what county commissioners do. The Pierce County commissioners office consists of three members: Tom Kuether, Brad Albers, and Carl Martinson.
Brad Albers says that being a county commissioner is often rewarding but can be stressful at times, such as during flooding and blizzards.
A county commissioner's job ranges from spending the taxpayers' money as efficiently as possible to maintaining county roads. Albers states an average work week is about 20-40 hrs, while a county commissioner's average day is spent directing the road worker on what needs to be done.
County commissioners are also in charge of all county workers. Albers says his favorite part of being a county commissioner is, “Helping people in need.”
Another one of the county commissioners is Carl Martinson, who is a member of many committees and boards and also has a business and works a full-time job. Martinson says his roles in other committees and boards have helped him learn and showed him a lot about Pierce. Martinson says the county commissioners provide infrastructure for our community such as maintaining roads, using the county's budget wisely, and controlling taxes.
Martinson’s favorite part of his job is dealing with people in the community. When asked if he enjoys it he says, “Absolutely, I love it.”
County commissioners are a very key part of maintaining a county.
