Generally, the Board of County Commissioners is responsible for the orderly and efficient operation of county government. The Commissioners are the managers of fiscal affairs. They prepare an annual budget, establish and levy taxes, and invest all idle cash. Two other offices share certain aspects of fiscal responsibility with the Board. Counties in Pennsylvania rely on federal and state grants to fund a majority of their programs.
Beaver County levies only one tax, the real estate property tax.
The Board of Commissioners, by state law, is the designated Board of Assessment Appeals and they have the duty to establish, through their Chief Assessor, a permanent and dynamic records system consisting of tax maps, property record files and valuations, and property owner indices pertaining to all real property in the county. Landowners who object to the values placed on their lands and buildings have the right to appeal to the Board of Assessment Appeals. Annually, properties for which real estate taxes have not been paid are referred to the Tax Claim Bureau, which attempts for one additional year to collect the delinquent tax. The County Commissioners have the responsibility for hiring, directing, and terminating the work force of all departments reporting to them. As sitting members of the Salary Board they have authority to establish positions and salaries in every department and is the designated employer of all County employees for purposes of collective bargaining and the administration of resulting agreements.