The county executive shall be a qualified voter of the county residing in the county. He or she shall be elected from the county at large for a term of 4 years commencing on January 1 next following his or her election.
The salary of the county executive shall be fixed by ordinance of the Board of County Commissioners; such salary shall be reasonable and commensurate with the duties of the office and with the fact that the position of county executive is and shall be a full-time position. The salary of the county executive may not be lowered during his or her tenure in office.
The office of county executive shall be deemed vacant if the incumbent moves his or her residence from the county or he or she is by death, physical or mental illness or other casualty unable to continue to serve as county executive. Any vacancy in the office of county executive shall be filled in the manner prescribed by law for the election of county officers at the next general election occurring not less than 60 days after the occurrence of the vacancy. The Board of County Commissioners may appoint one of their number or the chief administrator to serve as acting county executive until a successor has been elected. During the temporary absence or temporary disability of the county executive the chief administrator shall serve as acting county executive.
The executive power of the county shall be exercised by the county executive. He shall:
a. 
Report annually to the Board of County Commissioners and to the people on the state of the county, and the work of the previous year; he or she shall also recommend to the board whatever action or programs he or she deems necessary for the improvement of the county and the welfare of its residents. He or she may from time to time at his or her discretion recommend any course of action or programs he or she deems necessary or desirable for the county to undertake;
b. 
Prepare and submit to the board for its consideration and adoption an annual operating budget and a capital budget, establish the schedules and procedures to be followed by all county departments, offices and agencies in connection therewith, and supervise and administer all phases of the budgetary process;
c. 
Enforce the county charter, the county's laws and all general laws applicable thereto;
d. 
Supervise the care and custody of all county property, institutions and agencies;
e. 
Supervise the collection of revenues, audit and control all disbursements and expenditures and prepare a complete account of all expenditures;
f. 
Sign all contracts, bonds or other instruments requiring the consent of the county;
g. 
Review, analyze and forecast trends of county services and finances and programs of all boards, commissions, agencies and other county bodies, and report and recommend thereon to the board;
h. 
Develop, install and maintain centralized budgeting, personnel and purchasing procedures as may be authorized by the administrative code;
i. 
Negotiate contracts for the county subject to board approval; make recommendations concerning the nature and location of county improvements and execute improvements determined by the board;
j. 
Assure that all terms and conditions, imposed in favor of the county or its inhabitants in any statute, franchise or other contract, are faithfully kept and performed;
k. 
Serve as an ex-officio nonvoting member of all appointive bodies in county government.
The county executive:
a. 
Shall supervise, direct and control all county administrative departments;
b. 
With the advice and consent of the board, shall appoint the county counsel, the administrator, the heads of all departments and any divisions created within such departments, and the members of all county boards, commissions and authorities;
c. 
May, at his or her discretion, remove or suspend any official in the unclassified service of the county over whose office the county executive has power of appointment in accordance with the provisions of section 40:41A-87b;
d. 
May, at his or her discretion, but subject to any pertinent provisions of the administrative code or civil service requirements, delegate to department heads powers of appointment and removal of their departmental employees. If the county executive does not so delegate his or her power he or she may appoint and remove, subject to civil service requirements, all employees whose positions have been created in accordance with the administrative code, and the manner of whose appointment is not specified elsewhere in this article;
e. 
May require reports and examine the accounts, records and operations of any agency of county government;
f. 
May at his or her discretion order any agency under his or her jurisdiction as specified in the administrative code to undertake any task for any other agency on a temporary basis if he or she deems it necessary for the proper and efficient administration of the county government to do so;
g. 
Shall approve each ordinance of the board by signing it, or may veto any ordinance by returning it to the clerk of the board within ten days of passage with a written statement of his or her objections to the ordinance. If two-thirds of the full membership of the board, upon reconsideration of the measure, shall vote for it, the executive's veto shall be overridden and the ordinance shall become law without the executive's signature in accordance with the provisions of law.