You may have never heard of ‘Row Offices,’ but here’s who they are and what they do
Row officers are elected officials that investigate city finances, run elections, keep records and manage foreclosures in the city.
They’re called Row Offices, but does anyone know what that means? Not really. You may know them by their official job titles, though.
In Philadelphia, Row Officers are elected officials overseeing the city’s independent operations, like financial auditing of budgets, running and monitoring local elections, managing property foreclosures, and the record-keeping of marriage licenses, wills and estates.
Why are they called row officers? Because on the ballot when voting, they’re listed in a row. Pretty clever stuff, huh?
Here’s what Philly’s row offices are and what they do.
Term length: Four years with no term limits.
Salary: $147,068 per year
Requirements to run: Must be at least 25 years old, a citizen of the U.S. and a one-year resident of Philadelphia.
If the mayor of Philadelphia is the CEO, then the City Controller is the CFO, the chief financial officer. They’re the principal auditor of the city and school district, as their primary function is to inspect the government’s finances to ensure everything is above board.
The Controller works independently of the mayor, city council, and any other government agency in order to efficiently and transparently hold these entities accountable.
In the past, the City Controller has audited:
Voting for a City Controller dictates how the city will be held financially accountable.
Term length: Four years with no term limits
Salary: $142,700 per year (Commissioner), $152,900 per year (Chair)
Requirements to run: Must be at least 25 years old, a citizen of the U.S. and a three-year resident of Philadelphia.
The City Commissioners of Philadelphia is a three-member bipartisan board of elected officials that oversees Philadelphia county elections. They are responsible for registering voters, running and monitoring elections, counting votes and announcing winners of elections. Philadelphia selects these candidates to operate independently of other government agencies.
The City Commissioners can’t have more than two members from the political party with the largest number of registered voters in the city — which is the Democratic Party. For decades, two City Commissioners have been Democrats, while the third member has been Republican. One of the Commissioners serves as the chair of the board, which is decided by a vote among the City Commissioners.
Voting for City Commissioners dictates the efficiency and transparency of the local election system.
Term length: Four years with no term limits
Salary: $142,751 per year
Requirements to run: Must be at least 25 years old, a citizen of the U.S. and a one-year resident of Philadelphia.
The city’s Register of Wills is in charge of keeping records of various certificates and documents, like issuing marriage licenses, verifying wills of deceased people, collecting inheritance tax and maintaining the dockets and records for the Orphan’s court in Philadelphia.
This department works independently of other government agencies and deals with a plethora of legal matters for Philadelphians. Voting for a Register of Wills dictates how the office will be run, streamlined and improved.
Term: Four years with no term limits
Salary: $142,751
Requirements to run: Must be at least 25 years old, a citizen of the U.S. and a one-year resident of Philadelphia.
This elected official oversees the Sheriff’s Office of Philadelphia, which oversees policing of Philadelphia’s court system and manages court-ordered property foreclosures and tax sales in the county. When a property owner cannot pay their mortgage or property tax, the property is taken over by the Sheriff’s Office, on behalf of the court, and sold at a public auction known as a Sheriff’s Sale.
Voting for a Sheriff dictates how the office will conduct foreclosures, operate public auctions and handle finances of these sales — which in the past has been the focus of much scrutiny.