Martin County, Florida

Martin County is a located in the  of. As of 2000, the population was 126,731. The 2005 estimate for the county is 139,728. Its is.

History
Martin County was created in with the present day Northwest and Northeast quadants coming from St, Lucie County and the Southwest and Southeast quadrants coming from Palm Beach County. It was named for, from  to.

Geography
According to the, the county has a total area of 1,950 (753 ). 1,439 km² (556 sq mi) of it is land and 511 km² (197 sq mi) of it is water, much of it in the and. The total area is 26.19% water.

Martin County is part of the.

Adjacent Counties

 * - north
 * - south
 * - southwest (only point of continguity is in the center of Lake Okeechobee)
 * - southwest (only point of continguity is in the center of Lake Okeechobee)
 * - northwest

Demographics
As of the of 2000, there were 126,731 people, 55,288 households, and 36,213 families residing in the county. The was 88/km² (228/sq mi). There were 65,471 housing units at an average density of 46/km² (118/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 89.88%, 5.27% or , 0.30% , 0.60% , 0.10% , 2.72% from , and 1.14% from two or more races. 7.50% of the population were or  of any race.

In 2005 the county population was 83.9% non-Hispanic white, 9.1% Latino and 5.5% African-American. (Source=http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/12/12085.html)

In 2000 there were 55,288 households out of which 21.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.00% were living together, 7.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.50% were non-families. 29.00% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.23 and the average family size was 2.71.

In the county the population was spread out with 18.60% under the age of 18, 5.30% from 18 to 24, 22.90% from 25 to 44, 24.90% from 45 to 64, and 28.20% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 47 years. For every 100 females there were 96.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.20 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $43,083, and the median income for a family was $53,244. Males had a median income of $36,133 versus $27,000 for females. The for the county was $29,584. About 5.60% of families and 8.80% of the population were below the, including 13.80% of those under age 18 and 5.20% of those age 65 or over.

Government
Martin County is a non-chartered county and its form of government is prescribed by the Florida Constitution and Florida Statutes, as follows:

Board of County Commissioners
The Board of County Commissioners is the legislative body of the county and has charge of all county executive and administrative functions, except those assigned by the Constitution to independent county officers or to the independent school district. The board also has some quasi-judicial functions. Some of functions exercised by the board are county-wide, while others are applicable only in the unincorporated areas of the county, where the board has many of the functions of a municipality. The county commissioners are elected by county-wide vote, but each one represents a specific district. The board appoints the county administrator who is responsible to it for the day-to-day operations of the county government. The current county commissioners by district number are:
 * 1. Doug Smith, Chair
 * 2. Susan Valliere, Vice Chair
 * 3. Lee Weberman
 * 4. Sarah Heard
 * 5. Michael DiTerlizzi,

Constitutional Officers
The elected Constitutional Officers are:
 * Clerk (Clerk of Courts, County Clerk, etc.): Marsha Ewing
 * Property Appraiser: Laurel Kelly
 * Sheriff: Robert Crowder
 * Supervisor of Elections: Vicki Davis
 * Tax Collector: Larry C. O'Steen

School District
The independent Martin County School District has an elected Superintendent and elected School Board, as follows:
 * The Superintendent, Sara A. Wilcox, is the chief administrator of the district.
 * The School Board is the legislative body of the district and also exercises quasi-judicial powers. School Board members are elected county wide but each one represents a specific district. The current board members by district are:
 * 1. Lorie Shekailo
 * 2. Sue Hershey
 * 3. Laurie Gaylord (Chair)
 * 4. Nancy Kline (Vice-Chair)
 * 5. David Anderson

Incorporated

 * 1) Town of
 * 2) Town of
 * 3) Town of
 * 4) City of

Unincorporated

 * part
 * part

Attractions

 * on Hutchinson Island
 * in South Martin County
 * in held every February.
 * Martin County Public Beaches
 * Hobe Sound Public Beach on Jupiter Island
 * Jensen Sea Turtle Beach, Stuart Beach, Bathtub Beach and many beach strips on Hutchinson Island.
 * (extends into St. Lucie County)
 * on Long Island east of Port Salerno and north of Jupiter Island

Governmental

 * Board of County Commissioners
 * Martin County Board of County Commissioners official website
 * Martin County Fire Rescue Division
 * Martin County Library System


 * Constitutional officers of Martin County
 * Martin County Clerk
 * Martin County Supervisor of Elections
 * Martin County Property Appraiser
 * Martin County Sheriff
 * Martin County Tax Collector


 * School district
 * Martin County School District


 * Multi-county Districts
 * Indian River Community College
 * South Florida Water Management District
 * Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council


 * Judicial branch
 * Martin County Clerk of Courts
 * Public Defender, 19th Judicial Circuit of Florida
 * State Attorney, 19th Judicial Circuit of Florida
 * Circuit and County Court, 19th Judicial Circuit of Florida

Non-governmental

 * Martin Memorial Health System (Hospitals)
 * Stuart-Martin County Chamber of Commerce