In Arkansas local government, the county judge serves as the chief executive officer of the county government. As such, the county judge authorizes and approves the disbursement of all appropriated county funds, operates the system of county roads, administers ordinances enacted by the quorum court, has custody of county property, accepts grants from federal, state, public and private sources, and presides at the meetings of the quorum court without a vote but with the power of veto.

The county judge coordinates day-to-day intergovernmental relations with municipalities and state and local agencies that become involved with the county on various projects, programs and service delivery. The county judge applies on behalf of all county departments and offices for state and federal grant assistance for which the county is eligible. In addition, the County Judge appoints members to various administrative and advisory boards under the aegis of county government.

The county judge sits in judicial role as the county court. The county court has jurisdiction in matters relating to county taxes, paupers, general public utilities, trade and commerce, transportation and natural resources.

The titles “County Judge”, “Justice of the Peace” and “Quorum Court” frequently cause confusion as they sound like judicial roles. To the contrary, County Judge is an executive role and the Quorum Court is a legislative body. You can think of the County Judge as the “President” of the county and the Quorum Court as the “Congress” of the county. The County Judge is paid a salary of $58,152.40. The county judge is an elected official in county government. The Constitution of the State of Arkansas provides for the election of the county judge to a two-year term of office with the requirements that he/she be at least 25 years of age, a qualified elector, and a resident of the county. The filing fee to run as a Democrat for County Judge in 2016 is $1,163.