County of Berks Commissioners' Home Page

County of Berks Commissioners' Home Page

Meet Our Commissioners

Christian Leinbach
Commissioner, Chair
Biography
Michael Rivera
Commissioner, Vice-Chair
Biography

Purpose

The Board of Commissioners constitutes the chief governing body of the County. The three elected at large members perform the executive and legislative functions of county government. The Commissioners serve four year terms.

The Commissioners serve on the Salary, Prison, Retirement and Election Boards. In carrying out the management of County finances and property, they appoint a board for the assessment of real property in the County; formulate and approve the annual budget; fix the annual County tax rates, and authorize expenditures. They must also supervise the conduct of elections, provide for the care and maintenance of prisoners, and maintain county roads and buildings.

Goals & Objectives

It is the goal of the County Commissioners to ensure public access to information in simple and understandable formats; to organize the County’s technology to make it accessible to all departments and residents; to develop stronger working relations with the local governments and municipalities and to improve the County hiring process by more effective determination of employee duties and qualifications for County positions.

Organizational Chart

News and Information

County of Berks stands with West Reading community and those affected by the tragic incident at R.M. Palmer
Saturday, March 25, 2023
Read Full Statement
IMAGINE Berks 6-month update
Wednesday, March 1, 2023

County Commissioners heard a 6-month update on IMAGINE Berks strategic economic plan

Read Full Press Release
Appointment of New County Commissioner
Tuesday, February 14, 2023

Berks County Board of Judges appoint Lucine Sihelnik as new County Commissioner

Read Full Press Release

All Press Releases

Initiatives / Projects

Public Health Services Study

The County Commissioners hired HMA to conduct a study into the delivery of health and public health services in Berks County. The study findings and recommendations can be found here. 

Passenger Rail

The Commissioners in Berks, Chester and Montgomery counties created the Schuylkill River Passenger Rail Authority to lead the effort to restore passenger rail service between Reading and Philadelphia. 

Connecting Berks to Broadband

Learn more about the community initiative to make reliable, high-speed Internet accessible throughout Berks.  

American Rescue Plan (ARP)

The County of Berks received more than $81 million through the American Rescue Plan Act. Learn about the approach taken to utilize these funds and the dashboard of disbursements. 

Other Resources

FAQs

Please call 610-478-6136 for more information or for a free prescription discount card to use at a participating retail pharmacy for savings on prescription medicine not covered by insurance.
The Commissioners appoint members to a variety of advisory boards throughout the County. There are different requirements for each board. Please call 610-478-6136 for information on specific boards or to see if there are openings for any boards. We do ask for a resume to be submitted to the Commissioners if someone is interested in serving on a board. Please see the following list of boards and their meeting schedules.

List of Public Meetings for Advisory Boards – see attached page.

Related Links

County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania (CCAP)

A statewide, non-profit, bi-partisan association representing the commissioners, chief clerks, administrators, their equivalents in home rule counties, and solicitors of Pennsylvania's 67 counties.

National Association of Counties (NACo)

Created in 1935 for County officials to have a strong voice in the nation's capital; Ensures that the nation's 3,066 counties are heard and understood in the White House and Congress; Provides services such as legislative, research, technical, public affairs and other.