The Board of Commissioners is the chief governing body of Centre County. The commissioners are elected every four years by the citizens of Centre County. The Board of Commissioners is comprised of Chair Mark Higgins, Vice-Chair Amber Concepcion, and Steven G. Dershem.
Their statutory authority is primarily of an administrative nature and is set forth in the County Code of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania as well as other legislation, adopted by the Pennsylvania General Assembly.
The Commissioners appoint personnel, supervise County offices and programs, and contract, on behalf of the County, in a variety of program areas.
As the fiscal managers of the County, the Commissioners are responsible for developing and adopting of the annual budget, assessment of property, levying of taxes, and as necessary, the borrowing of funds for construction of capital projects.
They are involved in various countywide initiatives from such matters as increasing economic development to monitoring the efficiency and effectiveness of County provided programs and services.
They also serve on the Board of Assessment, Salary Board, Retirement Board, Employees Benefit Trust, and Prison Board (along with other County-elected officials), as well as serving on several human services boards.
Centre County Board of Commissioners’ meetings are recorded each Tuesday by C-NET. The meetings are televised live on C-NET Channel 7 on the Comcast Cable system. Watch recorded Commissioners’ meetings online, with bookmarked agenda items.