Folks often ask me “What’s a county commissioner?”

Each of Maine’s 16 counties has three to seven commissioners, elected to staggered four-year terms in our regular November elections.

Lincoln County has three:

District 1: Hamilton Meserve (R-Newagen) representing Boothbay, Boothbay Harbor, Southport, Edgecomb, Wiscasset and Westport.

District 2: Bill Blodgett (D-Waldoboro): Bremen, Bristol, Monhegan Plantation, Nobleboro, South Bristol and Waldoboro.

District 3: Mary Trescot (D-Damariscotta): Alna, Damariscotta, Dresden, Jefferson, Newcastle, Somerville, Whitefield.

The commissioners control Lincoln County’s $10,600,000 budget. The County Executive (John O’Connell), hired by the commissioners, compiles the budget. It is approved by the commissioners and reviewed by a 10-member budget advisory board. The latter consists of nine rotating town selectmen and a Lincoln County state legislator. Final jointly

The commissioners approve all expenditures by majority vote.

The commissioners also sit as a court of appeals where town residents can challenge town real estate evaluations. They also serve on the Two Bridges Regional Jail Authority, which operates the jail, a joint venture between Lincoln and Sagadahoc counties, opened in 2008. The two counties split the operating cost.

The budget covers 10 administrative areas: district and superior courts; district attorney; registry of deeds; registry of probate; regional planning and economic development; recycling; emergency management and 911 communications; Two Bridges Regional Jail; sheriff; and county administration (finance, audit, buildings, court house complex, communications and sheriff’s headquarters).

In future columns we’ll examine each of these departments to help readers better understand the work of the county.

I’m surprised how little residents know, let alone understand, what the county does. Much is assuming responsibilities and offering services that the towns cannot individually afford or produce.

For example, it would be prohibitively expensive and cumbersome for Lincoln’s 18 towns to field 18 police forces or 18 registries of probate or deeds. Or to maintain 18 jails. Or for each town fire department to compete with each other or nationally for federal aid in emergency management and disaster response.

The county can and does step in as an effective intermediary, with the Sheriff, the Registries of Probate and Deeds and Two Bridges Regional Jail. And, it applies for federal and state training and equipment on behalf of all towns.

Another example: recycling. The county picks up from town transfer stations plastics (#1-7), metals, news and mixed papers, glass and electronics, all free of charge, and sells in collective bulk at higher prices than can be realized by individual towns.

In return, the county is saving the towns around $250,000 in cartage and tipping fees, far more than what the town would earn selling recycling items individually.

The next column will be on recent moves to streamline the county’s financial management.