Meet your county. Meet all 254 Texas counties!

It's April 1st, and of course everybody knows that means it's COUNTY GOVERNMENT MONTH!

A very fine website will link you to all our counties, and offers all sorts of cool information about our local governance: http://www.texascounties4u.org/

After the break, the accompanying press release:


TEXAS COUNTIES CELEBRATE APRIL AS COUNTY GOVERNMENT MONTH



This year, Texas’ 254 counties will celebrate April as County Government Month, promoting to their citizens the many important services provided by counties.



In the past, one week every spring was designated at County Government Week, but beginning this year, the National Association of Counties (NACo) expanded the celebration to the entire month.



“Faced with ever-increasing service demands and state mandates, county governments in Texas are constantly on the lookout for ways to do more with less,” said Gene Terry, executive director of the Texas Association of Counties (TAC). “As the functional arm of state government and the government closest to the people, counties are responsible for maintaining public records, supporting the justice system, providing adequate infrastructure, caring for the indigent, along with a host of other duties.”



“We want our citizens to know that their county government is there for them in these tough economic times,” Terry said. “We welcome folks to come visit their courthouse any time, but particularly this month as we celebrate the oldest form of local government in the United States. County government in Texas has been a major partner in providing services to citizens since the early Republic days, and we are still doing so in the most cost-effective ways possible.”



Important county services include operating the criminal justice and courts systems, protecting the public with law enforcement and emergency management, maintaining infrastructure, managing and protecting public records, meeting state mandates for indigent health care and indigent criminal defense, providing an equitable property tax system, ensuring quality of life services such as parks and libraries and offering services to those most in need such as the elderly and youth.



“Counties provide these and other essential services through the local control of their voters and most often without financial assistance from the state,” Terry said. “We are proud of our county and its operation for our citizens.”



TAC has numerous resources to highlight county services, including:

• A special Web site for the public, www.TexasCounties4U.org, which features videos on how to access county services, a map/list of all county Websites, descriptive information about each county government office, basic data on every county, including demographic profiles.

• Two brochures, “Who Does What in Texas County Government,” and “There When You Need It: County Government.”

• A 17-minute DVD video, “County Government: There When You Need It,” describes the structure and history of Texas county government and explains the role and functions of the various county offices.