Know your county
How Trumbull County government works.
About 202,000 people. A general fund of roughly $65 million a year. Three commissioners in charge of it. Here is how it all fits together.
The Board of Commissioners
Trumbull County describes its own board this way: the commissioners are the county government's "taxing, budgeting, appropriating, and purchasing authority." In plain words: the board decides how much money the county takes in, where it goes, and what the county buys. Three commissioners, each elected by the whole county.
The money
The 2025 general fund was projected at $66.6 million and trimmed to about $65 million, and local reporting through 2025 and 2026 described the budget as tight, with departments asking for more than the fund could cover. On top of the general fund, commissioners administer outside money that comes to the county, like the $38 million in federal ARP relief. Where did it go? Michael is demanding a full public accounting.
The departments commissioners run
The board appoints the department heads for these county operations:
- 911 Center: countywide emergency dispatch
- Job and Family Services: assistance programs and child protection
- Child Support Enforcement Agency
- Office of Elderly Affairs: services for seniors
- Sanitary Engineer / Water and Sewer: county water and sewer
- Building Inspection: construction permits and inspections
- Purchasing Department: county buying
- Human Resources
- Maintenance and Vehicle Maintenance: county buildings and fleet
- Dog Kennel: the county dog shelter
Read that first one again: the 911 Center answers directly to the county commissioners. When dispatch fails, the board owns it. That is why a retired police chief is running for this seat. His plan for the 911 Center.
Who the commissioners do not run
The sheriff, auditor, treasurer, prosecutor, recorder, clerk of courts, engineer, and coroner are elected separately and run their own offices. But their budgets come through the board. The commissioners also sit on county bodies like the Board of Revision, the Records Commission, the Data Processing Board, and the Planning Commission.
Watch them work
The board meets in public at the County Administration Building, 160 High Street NW, Warren: work sessions Tuesdays at 10:30 AM, and the voting session Wednesdays at 10:30 AM (holiday weeks can shift the schedule, so check the county calendar). Any resident can attend. Michael believes more of us should.
Sources: Trumbull County official website · Vindicator budget reporting, 2025 · Tribune Chronicle ARP reporting · 2020 U.S. Census.
Paid for by Friends of Michael J. Hovis