|
The county's governing body, the Commissioners Court, is
comprised of a county judge, who is elected at large, and four commissioners
elected from equal precincts based on population. This body conducts the general
business of the county and oversees financial matters. In addition to the
Commissioners Court, there are another 30 elected officials in Collin County
government:
Collin County Commissioners Court
The Collin County
Commissioners Court holds authority over the county's administrative
services, which include a number of departments such as public works,
health care services, facilities, budget, public information, information
technology and human resources.
Public Works maintains
and builds county roads, as well as oversees trash management for the
unincorporated areas of the county. They are about halfway through a program
to asphalt all county roads, and stay constantly busy ensuring that county
roads remain open and safe regardless of sometimes harsh weather conditions.
In county government, Health
Care Services provides indigent health care for qualifying recipients,
vaccination programs,
the Woman, Infant and Children
(WIC) program and epidemiological services. During the past year,
the health department, located in McKinney, provided more than 19-thousand
vaccinations to children and nearly 5,500 flu
immunizations. People seeking additional information regarding
health care services can visit the Health
Care Services website or call the department directly at 972-548-5532.
The Animal Services
Department was created in 2006. Their facility, located within the Sheriff's
Department complex, performs all animal control duties as well as sheltering
all lost/stray pets from all unincorporated areas of Collin County, and
the cities of Celina, Prosper, Princeton, Fairview, New Hope, Melissa,
Nevada, Lavon, and Blue Ridge. McKinney, Frisco, Anna and Farmersville
all provide their own animal control services.
Tax Assessor and Collector
With three offices across the county, the Tax
Assessor and Collector oversees property tax
statements and payments. The office also handles all motor
vehicle fees on behalf of the state -- such as registration, renewals
stickers and license plates.
Residents can access forms and information online, such
as regarding the Homestead
Exemption, and get answers to property tax-related issues from the
Tax Assessor and Collector's pages
on the county website.
County Clerk
The County Clerk
records the proceedings for the county courts through the County
Court at Law Clerks branch office. The County Clerk also maintains
a wide variety of legal and vital records that include: Marriage
licenses, birth and
death certificates, land
records, power of attorney filings, bonds, plats, marks and cattle
brands, assumed
names and beer and
wine sales permit applications.
District Clerk
The main function of the District
Clerk office is to keep and protect judicial records of the eight
District Courts in Collin County. The District Clerk also oversees the
accounting and disbursement of all child
support payments ordered by the district courts, manages a passport
office in Plano, and manages Jury
Information Services.
District Attorney
The District
Attorney represents the citizens of Collin County in prosecuting misdemeanor
and felony crimes, and acts as legal counsel for county government. With
more than 50 attorneys, two dozen investigators and about 40 support staff,
the office works in cooperation with more than 30 law enforcement agencies
in keeping the peace throughout the county by maintaining justice.
The D.A.'s office also runs a pre-indictment
plea program and a drug-testing lab program. D.A. investigators, as
part of a special unit addressing white-collar crime, oversee a hot-check
division and fight mortgage
fraud, among other things, and have established an impressive track
record in helping local law enforcement close unsolved
crimes that have lain dormant for years due to lack of evidence.
The Court System
Collin County currently has nine state District
Courts, seven of which oversee general jurisdictional matters: criminal,
civil and family law matters. The eighth court focuses solely on juvenile
civil and criminal issues. All of these courts reside in the Bloomdale
Road courthouse.
Six County Courts
at Law watch over misdemeanor criminal cases and some civil cases,
appeals of Class-C misdemeanor convictions, and mental health cases. A
separate court exclusively handles probate issues. These courts currently
conduct business in the University Drive facility.
Another five Justices
of the Peace, spread out in sub-courthouses across the county, hold
court on issues such as hot checks, truancy, peace bonds, and some traffic
violations. They also conduct various magistrate functions including search
and arrest warrants, arraignments and examining trials to decide if a
criminal suspect should be held on bond until a grand jury votes on a
criminal indictment.
Sheriff
The Sheriff is the chief
law enforcement officer for the county and is responsible for running
the jail, patrolling unincorporated areas and investigating crimes committed
in those areas. The county jail is arguably the best in Texas, given that
it has passed the stringent state jail inspection for a record 21 years
in a row. The Sheriff also keeps a tactical team trained and ready for
high-risk situations, narcotics raids and hostage situations, and provides
bailiffs for the district and county courts at law.
Constables
Four elected Constables
and their staffs serve as the chief process servers and bailiffs for the
Justices of the Peace courts. Constables execute and return to the courts
all warrants, capias warrants, citations, subpoenas, evictions, and writs.
| 
