Op-Ed: County Positions: Sheriff, Treasurer, Assessor, Coroner, Part 2 of 3
By Art Da Rosa • December 23, 2022Take you wise men, and understanding, and known among your tribes, and I will make them rulers over you. So I took the chief of your tribes, wise men, and known, and made them heads over you, captains over thousands, and captains over hundreds, and captains over fifties, and captains over tens, and officers among your tribes. (Deuteronomy 1: 13, 15)
During the Declaration of Independence era, the Bible was heavily quoted and relied on for inspiration on how to organize our nation. Deuteronomy was one of the most frequently cited sources, especially chapter 1. Moses had wise men elected to serve in their tribes. There were also different duties entrusted to these wise men. We can see a similar structure in County organizations. The Idaho Constitution Article XVIII lists the following County elected positions:
Sheriff
This elected position is one of the most visible positions. The name is derived from the Anglo-Saxon, shire rif, or leader in a shire. Note that they envisioned protection against foreign attacks as the most important function of the shire. For this reason, this responsibility was delegated to their shire leader. Sheriffs are different from police in that the sheriff is elected by the people, while the police are employed by the local government. We want him to be elected because we want him to represent us and protect us. The Founding Fathers recognized the necessity of governments. At the same time, they also recognized the immense oppression that can come from governments. Sheriffs represent the last-ditch effort to protect us from enemies foreign and domestic. For example, suppose the federal government wants to arrest us for COVID violations (a hypothetical parallel borrowed from the events in China), they are required to notify the local sheriff, and he can deny such actions.
Earlier this year, the Florida governor fired a sheriff for refusing to rescue hostages in a school. Florida’s Constitution allows that action. But, not in Idaho and most of the states. A sheriff is elected by the People, and he cannot be fired by the Governor or even the President. There are, however, Impeachment and Recall processes. We will discuss them separately.
Treasurer
To properly manage the budget and provide accountability, a Treasurer is elected. This position is similar to the Finance Director or Accountant in any company. Note that the Idaho Constitution allows this position to administer other executive functions within the County. In Bannock County, the Treasurer also oversees the procurement process.
Assessor
The Constitution lists our basic rights as Life, Liberty, and Property [the pursuit of happiness]. The protection of Property Rights is especially important. Without it, the other two basic rights would be voided. Excessive and unreasonable taxes erode the sanctity of property rights. Its importance prompted the creation of the position of County Assessor, with the primary role to protect our property rights.
I attended the debates between the two Assessor candidates in Bannock County. Both said that they work for the people. In the same breath, they also said that there are State laws that govern their every action. I sincerely caution them to establish their priorities!
Coroner
The role of the Coroner is relatively simple. One of the citizens died. The cause may be accidental or maybe not. The Right to Life is so sacred that a system to check on its pronouncement was deemed necessary. The Coroner’s role, therefore, is to check on the pronouncement of the Right to Life. The Coroner’s role does overlap with the role of the Sheriff allowing the Coroner to function as a checking power on the Sheriff. This brings up the question of Impeachment and Recall.
Recall and Impeachment
Elected officials can be recalled or impeached. The former is done by the voters. The latter is done by the Commissioners, who form the Legislative Branch of the County. Once impeached or recalled, the Sheriff has the responsibility to see the removal of that elected official. If the Sheriff is impeached or recalled, the Corner has the responsibility to remove the Sheriff.
Note: This is the second in a three-part series on local government. The first installment, The Proper Role of Local Governments. Next week’s installment will discuss the roles of Judges and Commissioners.
Art da Rosa, PE, MPA, CFM Inkom, ID
This Op-Ed was submitted by Art da Rosa. Op-Eds do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of those at the Idaho Dispatch.
Tags: Assessor, Coroner, Impeachment, Local Government, Recall, Right to Life, Sheriff, Treasurer
8 thoughts on “Op-Ed: County Positions: Sheriff, Treasurer, Assessor, Coroner, Part 2 of 3”
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Great article and a very good outline of responsibilities. On the assessor it should be noted that there are certain state laws that should and do govern the imposition of taxes, such as the statutes on Homeowners exemptions.
Impeached or Recalled:
1.) The Ada County Sheriff should be a “Constitutional Sheriff” protecting The People not following governmental political doctrine.
2.) Ada County just voted out of office one of the Nations most competent Coroners. This was done to comply with one political party’s dictatorial jealousy.
Both Ada Counties Sheriff and new Coroner, come January, would be excellent material for Recall or Impeachment.
Hear, Hear
Our politicians and government employed should be considered no more than crime gang. Pay attention to what they have done to the taxpayers of this state.
Thank you for this outline of roles of office. I think an interesting follow up would be how well each official has upheld the role as defined. One focus should be the sheriff’s inaction in the Anderson case. If you do not already know the background on that case, it is a shocking abuse of police power, CPS errors, and sheriff inaction. The parents were wrongfully accused of neglect and the child returned to them in less than a week. However, the heavy-handed court system decided to uphold her charge of resisting and sent the case on to mediation. Ultimately, the case was recently dismissed. An embarrassing black eye for all parties involved – meridian/garden city officers, CPS, saint lukes, courts, and our sheriff. However, little has been reported on the conclusion of the case. The MSM was quick to report on the early accusations, but conveniently stay quiet now. A good start would be asking the sheriff to be audited and actionable steps to prevent innocent citizens from gross government agency errors such as this. St Lukes could also use an independent audit and evaluation of the CARES program.
“No Constitution can protect a people that does not know or care about what it says”.
– Daniel Greenfield –
Sheriffs need to answer to the People as per the Constitution. ALL of our sheriffs need to join Sheriff Richard Mack’s Constitutional Sheriffs & Peace Officers Association. Ada “Sheriff” Matt Clifford does not seem to represent the spirit of what a Peoples’ sheriff needs to be. He acts more like a dog on a leash of the RINO club that acts the usher for cynical policies that slowly are eroding our freedoms. We deserve better.
Assessors don’t act like property rights protectors if they are sizing our properties up for TAXATION that should be illegal. Your home isn’t your home if you keep paying RANSOM for it every year.
Coroners should be above reproach and honest. If RINOs want to commit heinous crimes or cover up crimes of Cabal Dems (I’m not joking…I’m dead serious) then they need to own the coroner. You can bet your bottom dollar that every Big Blue City has corrupt coroners that facilitate mass crimes for their Plan that they are unfolding on us.
We need mass recalls and impeachments in our Idaho and local governments. We tried to recall McClean and we need to redouble our efforts.
12/29/22 Well, I’m a little late to this post but nevertheless I will share some info. You do know that even if your land/property is paid you don’t really own it, right? If you did, you wouldn’t lose it due to unpaid property taxes. We lost that right to true and forever ownership of Land during The Great Fraud of FDR who changed our status through the Birth Certificate scam and changed us from People to persons…big difference! Read your Warranty Deed! You are a tenant and residence means ‘temporarily conducting business’. Language has meaning! Everyone is still asleep! Your capacity has been changed at birth and you don’t even know it! Every time it is changed you are diminished!