Local government in Pennsylvania facts for kids

Local government in Pennsylvania is how communities in the state manage their own affairs. It's the level of government below the main state government. In Pennsylvania, there are six main types of local governments: counties, townships, boroughs, town, cities, and school districts.

Every part of Pennsylvania belongs to one of its 67 counties. These counties are then divided into 2,561 smaller areas called municipalities. There are no "independent cities" or "unincorporated territories" in Pennsylvania, meaning every area is part of some local government.

Counties in Pennsylvania

Counties in Pennsylvania handle many important jobs for the state. These include things like law enforcement, running the courts, and managing elections. Counties also help with public health, figuring out property values for taxes, and redevelopment projects. They often provide services for mental health, care for older adults (called geriatric care), support community colleges, and help fund libraries.

Most of Pennsylvania's 67 counties are run by a group of three people called a board of commissioners. Two of these commissioners must be from the main political party, and the third must be from a smaller, or minority, party. This is decided by who gets the most votes in the election. One of the commissioners acts as the leader, or "chair." This board usually acts as both the law-making and managing body for the county.

Besides the commissioners, most counties also elect other officials. These are often called "row officers." They work independently from the board of commissioners. Some of these jobs include the sheriff, district attorney, and recorder of deeds, who handles property records.

Seven counties in Pennsylvania have a special setup called a "home rule charter." This means they have their own unique rules for how their government works, which can be different from other counties. These counties are Allegheny, Delaware, Erie, Lackawanna, Lehigh, Luzerne, and Northampton. Philadelphia is unique because it's both a city and a county, and its city government handles all county duties.

County Classifications

Counties are also grouped by their population size. Each group has its own set of rules from the state government for how it operates. Here's a simple look at how counties are classified:

Municipalities in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania has many different types of landscapes, from hills and valleys to mountains. This means its communities vary a lot in size and population. The main types of municipalities are townships, boroughs, and cities. Most of these smaller areas are completely inside one county. However, some, like Bethlehem City, can cross county lines. It's also common for a borough to be right next to, or even almost surrounded by, a township with the same name.

Everyone in Pennsylvania lives under at least two types of local governments. One type provides services like police and fire protection, road maintenance, water, sewage, and garbage collection. They also handle things like zoning (rules for land use), parks, and business licenses. The second type of government manages the local schools. These school districts collect their own taxes and are usually set up to serve communities within a county, though some cross county borders.

Bloomsburg is the only place officially called a "town" in Pennsylvania. But even it follows the rules for boroughs and is treated like one by the state.

Unincorporated Communities

Unincorporated communities are places that are part of a larger municipality but don't have their own separate elected government. They don't get special power from the state or county. Often, these places were once important because of a train station or a local industry. Even if the industry is gone, the community name might still be well-known. For example, King of Prussia is a famous unincorporated community. It's actually part of Upper Merion Township, but many people know King of Prussia better.

These communities can be small, like a few homes and businesses at a crossroads. Or they can be large business areas with fewer residents but a strong commercial center. Sometimes, they are just recognized for their history.

Hamlets and Villages

Villages in Pennsylvania are often small communities within a township. They chose not to become a separate borough. You might see signs for them along state highways. Lahaska is a good example of a typical village in suburban Pennsylvania.

Census-Designated Places

These are areas that the United States Census Bureau recognizes for counting people during the census. Many of these places are also known as villages or have a post office that connects the community. Pennsylvania's hilly and forested land often meant settlements grew in smaller areas that were easier to build on. Today, modern machines make it possible to build almost anywhere, but it can involve moving a lot of soil and rocks.

Townships

Townships were some of the first land areas created in Pennsylvania by William Penn. They are usually large areas with fewer people, often with a few small groups of homes and businesses. Townships have existed since Pennsylvania was a colony. They were often large pieces of land given to people or families by Penn.

Townships can be either "first class" or "second class." The difference is in their powers and the types of officials they have. All townships start as second class. If they meet certain population requirements, they can vote to become a first-class township. However, many townships that qualify choose to stay as second class.

In a second-class township, there are usually three supervisors elected for six-year terms. They can vote to have five supervisors instead. In a first-class township, there's a board of commissioners. This board can have anywhere from five to fifteen members, elected for four-year terms. Some townships have special "home-rule charters" that allow them to have a mayor and council, like a city.

Boroughs

What many people outside Pennsylvania might call "towns" are officially known as boroughs (sometimes spelled boros). Boroughs are generally smaller than cities in both size and population. Most cities in Pennsylvania started out as boroughs before they became cities. Both boroughs and cities originally began as townships. Boroughs are not strictly classified by population size. They follow a specific set of laws called the borough code.

Each borough elects a mayor, who has limited power, and a council with three, five, seven, or nine members. The council has broad powers to make decisions for the borough. Boroughs also elect officials like a tax assessor, tax collector, and auditors independently. The borough council can also hire a borough manager to help run the daily business and carry out the council's decisions. Nineteen boroughs have adopted their own "home rule charters," giving them more control over their government.

Boroughs usually form in areas within a township where more people live closely together. These areas often had a train station and were centers for businesses and industries. The first borough in Pennsylvania was Germantown in 1690. However, it stopped being a borough when all of Philadelphia's municipalities were combined in 1854. The borough of Chester Heights is unique because it became a borough from Aston Township due to a tax protest.

Cities

Pennsylvania has 56 incorporated cities. The smallest is Parker, Armstrong County, with a population of only 840 people (as of 2010). Cities are also classified by their population.

First and Second Class Cities

There is only one "first class city": Philadelphia, which has more than 1 million residents.

There is also only one "second class city": Pittsburgh, which has between 250,000 and 1 million people. A city with 80,000 to 250,000 residents can also choose to become a second class city if it passes a special rule. Only Scranton has done this, making it the second city in this group.

First and second class cities usually have a "strong mayor" system and "home rule charters." This means the mayor has a lot of power to appoint and remove department heads. Their charters are like an agreement with the state about which powers the city will handle itself. These powers sometimes include county functions. Because of their charters, most of the city's operations are independent of state control.

Third Class Cities

Any city with fewer than 250,000 people that hasn't chosen to be a second class city is a "third class city." These cities can be governed in three different ways.

One way is the commission form of government. Here, the mayor and four other members form the main governing body, called the commission. The mayor is one of the council members and acts as the president. Each council member is in charge of one of the city's five main departments. The city controller (who checks finances) and treasurer are elected separately. Twenty cities use this type of government.

Another way is the mayor-council form. This has a council of five, seven, or nine members, elected for four-year terms. A mayor, treasurer, and controller are also elected for four years. The mayor is the city's chief leader. They make sure the council's rules are followed. The mayor can stop new rules (veto them), but the council can overrule the veto with enough votes. The mayor also oversees city departments and creates the yearly city budget. Nine cities have chosen this form of government.

The last way is the council-manager form. In this system, all power belongs to the council, which has five, seven, or nine members elected for four-year terms. A city treasurer and controller are also elected. The council then hires a city manager. The manager is the main administrator of the city. They are responsible for carrying out the council's rules. The manager also hires and can fire department heads and other staff. Only four cities use this method.

Sixteen third class cities have adopted "home rule charters." Two cities (DuBois and Altoona) use a special council-manager plan, and one city (Hazleton) uses a special mayor-council plan.

Municipal Authorities

Municipal authorities are a special type of local group. Unlike cities, boroughs, and townships, which handle many general government tasks, authorities are set up to do specific jobs. An authority is a legal body that can buy, build, improve, maintain, and run projects. They can also borrow money and issue bonds to pay for these projects.

These projects can include public facilities like buildings (including school buildings), transportation, markets, highways, airports, parking lots, water systems, sewage treatment plants, playgrounds, hospitals, and projects that help with industrial development.

Any county, city, town, borough, township, or school district in Pennsylvania can create an authority, either alone or with other municipalities. An authority is created by a special rule (an ordinance) from one or more municipalities. The local government bodies that create the authority appoint its board members. If one local unit creates it, the board has five members. If two or more units create it, there's at least one member from each unit, but no fewer than five total. The board manages the authority's work, buys property, hires staff, starts projects, makes rules and charges, and collects money from the services or facilities it provides.