History of Belknap County, NH

Form of Government: The County of Belknap, New Hampshire, was established in 1840 under the laws of the State of New Hampshire. The seat of Belknap County is based in Laconia and provides support to the citizens of ten towns and one city in the form of the following services: Citizens Council on Children and Families, Corrections Facility, County Attorney, Finance, Human Services, Registry of Deeds, Juvenile Restorative Justice, Maintenance, Nursing Home, and Sheriff’s Department.

The county operates under the Commissioner (Executive Branch consisting of three elected Commissioners) and Convention (Legislative Branch consisting of 18 elected Representatives) form of government and provides services as authorized by state statue.
The three-member Board of Commissioners (as mandated by NH Statute RSA 28) are part-time elected officials responsible for overall supervision, custody and care of all county departments, buildings and land, and have budgetary oversight of all county expenditures. They are elected into staggered four and two-year terms by the voters of the districts each are assigned to. The annual county budget is prepared by the Commissioners and Departments Heads and submitted to the County Convention for final approval.