About Norfolk County

Norfolk County consists of twenty-eight (28) eastern Massachusetts communities, mostly located to the South and West of Boston. The County was incorporated as a regional governmental entity in 1793, and has its county seat at the town of Dedham.

Regional government has evolved differently in each of Massachusetts' fourteen counties, and that process continues. Presently, some regional government functions are performed directly by County government, while other services are essentially state government programs with the county area as a service territory.  Other regional departments, such as the District Attorney's office, are under supervision of officers directly elected by the voters. 
 
Programs and services currently under the jursidiction of Norfolk County include: 
 
 

The executive authority of Norfolk County is vested in an elected County Commission. The three Commissioners are elected county-wide for four-year terms with only one permitted from any one city or town. 

The County's legislative branch is its Advisory Board, which represents the cities and towns in budget, capital planning,  and other matters.  Representatives are appointed annually (by the selectmen, mayor, or manager, depending on the community's form of government), and have a weighted voted based on community property valuation, which is also the basis of the annual county tax assessment.
 
Other county revenues include a share of Registry of Deeds receipts, reimbursement Court facilities maintenance expenses, and state and federal funding of individual county programs.