Many volunteer boards, committees and commissions provide valuable service to Chatham County by providing guidance and expertise on specific policy areas or topics. The boards, committees and commissions listed on the menu to the left are the major policy and advisory boards for the county and have at least some seats appointed by the Board of Commissioners, appointed by other political entities or elected by county voters. The county department webpages will list any other committees focused on specific issues, many of which have open membership or are appointed by department heads.

For the major boards and committees listed to the left, there are two major categories of based on their policymaking authority:

County Advisory Committees: Some or all of the members of these boards are appointed by the County Board of Commissioners and do not have policymaking authority. They advise the Board of Commissioners and any related county departments or agencies. Examples of these are: Agriculture Advisory Committee, Green Building & Sustainable Energy Advisory Committee, Recreation Advisory Committe, Transportation Advisory Committee, Library Advisory Committee and Affordable Housing Advisory Committee.

County Policy Boards: The County Board of Commissioners may or may not appoint the members of these boards, but the key distinction is that they can make some major policy decisions without approval of the Board of Commissioners. The major policy boards for the county are:

• County Board of Elections: The members are appointed by the major political parties in the county and the Elections Director is appointed by the State Board of Elections. This board makes major policy decisions related to elections, such as types of voting equipment used and voting site locations.
• Board of Health: The members of the County Board of Health are appointed by the Board of County Commissioners, but state law gives this board the authority to determine health policies and to appoint the Health Director.
• Board of Social Services: Two members of this County Board of Social Services are appointed by the Board of County Commissioners and two are appointed by a state board, while the fifth member is appointed by the four other members. State law gives this board the authority to determine social services policies and to appoint the Director of Social Services.
• Soil & Water Conservation District Board of Supervisors: Three members of this board are elected by the county’s voters for four-year terms and two are selected at the state level. The board is granted specific authority around soil and water conservation programs and plans.

About Education Boards

The Chatham County Board of Education is a local governing board elected by the voters. For more information, visit: https://eboard.eboardsolutions.com/index.aspx?S=190

The Central Carolina Community College serves a three-county area and is governed by an appointed Board of Trustees. The Chatham Board of Commissioners does have two appointments to the board. For more information, visit: http://www.cccc.edu/trustees.html

General Application to Serve on Volunteer Boards & Committees

To find out more about applying to serve on a volunteer board with a county commissioner appointment and to apply online or print off a form, click here.

Free viewers are required for some of the attached documents.
They can be downloaded by clicking on the icons below.

Acrobat Reader Windows Media Player Word Viewer Excel Viewer PowerPoint Viewer