Editing Avery County, North Carolina (section)

==Law and government==
The county is governed by a five-member Avery County Board of Commissioners who are elected to two or four-year terms, depending on the number and percentage of votes they receive when elected. The current members, as of 2024, are Chairman Tim Phillips, Dennis Aldridge, Robert Burleson, Wood Hall Young Jr. and Junior Benfield.<ref name="AveryCountyCommissioners">{{Cite web |title=Our Government |url=https://www.averycountync.gov/residents/our_government/index.php |access-date=January 20, 2024 |website=www.averycountync.gov}}</ref>

Avery County is a member of the regional [[Councils of governments in North Carolina|High Country Council of Governments]]. The county commissioners appoint a county manager to oversee day-to-day operations of county government of all departments that are not controlled by an elected head. The current county manager position is filled by Phillip Barrier, Jr.<ref>{{Cite web |title=County Manager |url=https://www.averycountync.gov/departments/county_manager.php |access-date=January 20, 2024 |website=www.averycountync.gov}}</ref> The current finance officer position is filled Caleb Hogan.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Finance Department |url=https://www.averycountync.gov/departments/finance_payroll_department.php |access-date=January 20, 2024 |website=www.averycountync.gov}}</ref> The Board of Commissioners also appoints qualified citizen applicants to various boards and committees, such as business and economic development, social service board, library board, airport board, fire commission [[Mayland Community College]] Board, ad hoc and others.<ref name="AveryCountyCommissioners"/>

The county seat in [[Newland, North Carolina|Newland]] is the highest county seat east of the [[Mississippi River]], as is the courthouse, located on a pinnacle in the center of town, at an elevation of over {{convert|3600|ft|m}}.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Visitor Overview & History of Avery County |url=https://averycounty.com/visitor-overview/ |access-date=January 20, 2024 |website=Avery County Chamber of Commerce}}</ref>

Pursuant to state law, some of the most important officials in the county are elected. These include the offices of Sheriff (Michael P. Henley, a retired NC trooper sergeant and retired Banner Elk police sergeant), Register of Deeds (currently Erin G. English), Clerk of Superior Court (currently Theresa Benfield), and formerly, the County Coroner (John A. Millan, retired Avery County chief school resource officer) and retired NC National Guard 1st sergeant, who retired in December, 2024, was among the last 3 elected county coroners serving in all of North Carolina. 

Elected district judicial officials include: District Attorney Seth Banks of Yancey County, who like the district judges, covers the entire 24th Judicial District of Avery, Watauga, Mitchell, Yancey and Madison Counties. Resident Superior Court Judges are former assistant district attorney Gary Gavennus and former Chief District Court Judge Greg Horne of Boone, who is also a former assistant district attorney. Both superior court judges work out of Boone. The Chief District Court Judge is former chief assistant district attorney Ted Mcintyre of [[Spruce Pine, North Carolina|Spruce Pine]], who replaced long-serving Chief Judge Alexander Banner Lyerly, who retired in 2013. Mcintyre's office is in Newland. Other district court judges are: former Superior Court Judge Hal Harrison of Spruce Pine, Rebecca Eggers-Gryder of Boone and Matt Rupp of Boone and Judge Alexandria E. “Allie” Leake, who replaced her father, retired Judge Larry Leake of Madison County. Retired Judge Warren Hughes, retired Yancey County Clerk of Court, remains available as an emergency judge. The Chief Magistrate is attorney Bruce Lacey, who, along with retired Banner Elk police chief Bill Burleson and Newland businessman Tim Bounds all serve as Magistrates. Barbara Jones is Social Services Director and the Tax Collector-Assessor supervisor is Andrea Turbyfill. Building inspector is former NBA star [[Tommy Burleson]] and the County Board of Elections is headed by Sheila Ollis. The county's elected Soil and Water Board District supervisors are Bill Beutell, David Banner, Ann Coleman, and Jack Wiseman.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Avery Soil & Water Conservation District |url=https://www.averycountync.gov/departments/soil_and_water.php |access-date=January 20, 2024 |website=www.averycountync.gov}}</ref>

The county also has a non-partisan elected school board to oversee the countywide school district. The current school board chairman is John Greene, with retired teacher Kathy Aldridge serving as vice chair. Other school board members are retired Avery High School Principal Patricia Edwards. The county's superintendent of schools is Dr. Dan Brigman. The School Board is located on NC 194 near the Newland city limits. It also houses the school bus garage, support staff and other school system administrative offices.

===Government buildings===
Overlooking Avery Square is the historic 1912 [[Avery County Courthouse]]. The square, includes monuments to fallen peace officers, fallen firefighters and as of 2016, a large veteran's memorial. The courthouse was remodeled in 1996 and again in 2014, to add more office space and a second smaller courtroom. The courthouse is located on Shultz Circle and Glenn Hicks Lane, which was renamed from Jail Street, in honor of Avery Sheriff's Deputy Lt. Glenn H. Hicks, who was murdered in the line of duty in 2003.

The courthouse also houses local office of the North Carolina Probation and Parole Division, judges offices and chambers, district attorney's sub-office, the county map office, tax office, inspection office, register of deeds, clerk of superior court, guardian ad litem and North Carolina juvenile justice department. Connected to the courthouse is the sheriff's office and the county jail, an elections office, county 911 emergency dispatch center and magistrate's courtroom.

The county administrative building provides work space for the county manager and many other county offices such as social services, payroll, finance, veterans services, fire marshal, emergency management, waste management, technology and personnel. In 1997, a second courtroom and a small magistrate's courtroom at the courthouse was created.

The Avery County Sheriff's Office provides law enforcement protection to the entire county. The county has no police department. The Sheriff also provides security to the courts and courthouse, serves civil orders of the courts and operates the jail complex.

Other county services includes a 911 emergency dispatch center that provides service to all county law enforcement (Sheriff's office, 6 town police departments and three company police agencies, plus communications support to the NC Highway Patrol Troopers, NC Wildlife officers, state alcohol agents and state park rangers assigned locally), fire, EMS and rescue services in the county. The county building also houses county fire marshal and emergency management offices, a veteran's services office and an office of economic development, along with staffed trash collection sites throughout the county and a landfill.