Local Government Basics
Contents:
The Structure of Columbia County Government
Columbia County is made up of eighteen towns and one city:
And the City of Hudson.
In addition, there are four incorporated villages: Chatham (within the towns of Chatham and Ghent), Kinderhook (within the Town of Kinderhook), Philmont (within the Town of Claverack), and Valatie (within the Town of Kinderhook).
Each town elects a supervisor who, together with the ward supervisors of the City of Hudson, all sit on the Columbia County Board of Supervisors. Town supervisors are the chief executives in the towns, while Hudson is served by a Mayor, as are the incorporated villages. Unlike larger counties in New York, Columbia County does not have a county executive or county legislature. Instead, the Board of Supervisors acts as both the legislature and executive of the county government.
There are also other elected county officials: two county judges, a district attorney, a county sheriff, a county clerk, and two county coroners.
The county, like other rural counties in New York, provides a number of services for its citizens. An incomplete list of these services includes:
- Election Commission
- Emergency Services (Homeland Security, 911, fire fighting coordination)
- Engineering, Highways
- Mental Health
- Office for the Aging
- Pine Haven Nursing Home
(in Philmont)
- Planning Board
- Probation
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- Public Health
- Public Works
- Sheriff
- Social Services
- Soil & Water Conservation
- Solid Waste
- Tourism
- Traffic Safety
- Veterans' Services
- Youth Bureau
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A printable three-page contact list for all county agencies and services can be found here in PDF format.
The Office for the Aging also has an Advisory Council, with two members for each township or Hudson City Ward. Its membership can be found here.
