The Northampton County Board of Supervisors is made up of five elected officials who serve for a four-year term. The Board of Supervisors has both administrative and legislative responsibilities. The powers and duties of the board include: preparing the county budget and appropriating funds; levying county taxes; appointing members of various boards and committees; pre-auditing claims against the county and issuing warrants for their settlement; constructing and maintaining county buildings; adopting the county’s comprehensive land use plan and approving and enforcing related ordinances; adopting and enforcing ordinances for police, sanitation, health, and other regulations permitted by state laws.
The administrative head of the traditional form of government contained in the Code of Virginia Section 15.2 is the County Administrator. The county administrator is appointed by the Board of Supervisors and serves at the pleasure of the Board. The administrator is a full-time employee whose duties are to implement county policies as determined by the Board of Supervisors and oversee the day-to-day county business operations through a staff of professional directors.
Human Resources is a shared function with the Finance Department and Administration.
The Departments of Northampton County are dedicated to achieving, under the leadership of the County Administrator, the goals set forth by the Board of Supervisors; to provide efficient, effective, equitable services to our citizens and visitors.
The Commissioner of the Revenue's office is responsible for discovery, identification, and the assessment of all taxable property, real and personal in the county. In addition to providing assistance in preparing Virginia State Income Tax returns we process state returns and electronically forward them to the Department of Taxation for timely refunds. The office also maintains the land records and maps, administers the tax relief for the elderly and disabled, tax exemption for rehabilitated commercial/industrial and residential structures, land use application for Agricultural Forest Districts. In addition we administer the Transient Occupancy Tax, the Food and Beverage Tax and the Personal Property Tax Relief Act.
Since 1870, the Virginia Constitution has required that the post of Treasurer be an elected office. The Treasurer of the County is responsible for collecting revenues in the form of taxes and fees. These revenues include:
◾Real estate taxes
◾Personal property taxes
◾License taxes
◾Permit fees
◾State income taxes
◾Court, sheriff and clerk fees
The Treasurer also manages the investment of local funds and maintains the county's financial records in conjunction with the finance department.
The Northampton County public schools are governed by the Northampton County School Board, which is composed of seven members who are elected. A superintendent is appointed by the School Board to administer the operations of the County’s public schools.
The School Board functions independently of the County Board but is required to prepare and submit an annual budget to the County Board of Supervisors for its consideration. Because the School Board can neither levy taxes nor incur indebtedness under Virginia law, the local costs of the school system are in large part provided by appropriation from the County’s General Fund. The costs of constructing school facilities are generally provided by capital appropriations from the County’s General fund, through State Literary Fund loans, Qualified Zone Academy Bonds, and through the Virginia Public School Authority.
The Clerk of Court is an elected official for a term of eight years, responsible for administration of the Northampton County Circuit Court through a variety of judicial, non-judicial and fiscal activities. Judicial functions include processing all criminal and civil cases coming before the Court, providing staff to the Judge during all trials and hearings. In addition, the Clerk's staff prepares records, maintains court orders, subpoenas and pleadings, and manages the Court's docket and juries. Non-judicial functions of the Clerk's office include admitting or denying wills to probate, qualifying executors and guardians, and recording all land records, deeds, powers of attorney and real estate transactions. The office also processes and records judgments, financing statements, marriage licenses, passports and concealed weapons permits, and handles a variety of appointments. The Clerk's fiscal responsibilities are to provide for the maintenance and investment of Trust and Condemnation funds, as well as collection of court fines, real estate transfer fees, recordation taxes, and other fees authorized by statute.
The Office of the General Registrar also known as the Voter Registration Office is a repository for all election and voter registration records. Local candidates file qualifying forms as well as their Campaign Finance reports with this office. Voter Registration Applications, Absentee Ballot Applications and Sample Ballots are available upon request. At their direction, this office assists the Northampton County Electoral Board in its supervision of the conduct of all elections held in Northampton County.
The Commonwealth Attorney is an elected Constitutional Officer whose term is four years. This office is responsible for providing the Commonwealth of Virginia with legal representation in the form of prosecution of all criminal cases in the General District Court, Circuit Court and Juvenile and Domestic Relations Courts, plus handling many civil penalties and forfeitures. Legal advice is provided to many law enforcement agencies and officers. Revenue is received from the State Compensation Board to defray the costs of the office.
The Northampton County Department of Social Services mission is to provide benefits and services to the citizens of Northampton based on programs established by local, state and federal laws and policy. The department’s focus is to prevent dependency and encourage self-sufficiency; preserve and restore family stability as well as promote and protect the well-being of adult protective services, foster care, employment services, food stamps, temporary assistance to needy families, Medicaid and child care.
The Sheriff is a Constitutional Officer of the Commonwealth of Virginia and is elected by the citizens of Northampton County to serve as their chief law enforcement officer. To discharge this duty, he is empowered by the Code of Virginia to appoint deputies and civilian staff to affect his charges. The Sheriff's Office is comprised of law enforcement and the county jail. The law enforcement division, as described here, is the single largest unit in the Sheriff's Office. The role of law enforcement is varied and covers a broad spectrum of activities. Typical tasks include preventive patrol, responding to calls for service, detection and arrest of suspected offenders, traffic management and traffic safety, criminal investigations, reducing drug related crimes, and serving of civil process. The civil process portion includes delivery of all warrants, subpoenas, summons, bills of complaint, detinue actions, levies and other such notices.