Each county has a board that hires the department’s director, advises the director on policy, and assumes other responsibilities as required by law. In most counties, it is the county board of social services that fulfill this role.
The District is governed by a five-member Board of Supervisors, with three officials elected by voters in the general election (James Allen, Archie Griffin, and Tracy Warren) and two officials appointed by the North Carolina Soil and Water Conservation Commission (Sid Cayton and Joe Rogers).