A Pennsylvania township or township under Pennsylvania laws is one class of the three types of municipalities codified, in Pennsylvania—smaller municipal class legal entities providing local self-government functions in the majority of land areas in the more rural regions. Townships act as the lowest level municipal corporations of governance of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, a U.S. state of the United States of America. However, Pennsylvania townships, in seeming contradiction, often have far larger territorial area than its large cities, boroughs, and towns—because only a relatively few occupants are required to establish the mechanisms of self-government under its constitution. Larger populations are required to progress to first-class townships, boroughs and cities. Further, that constitution dates to colonial times when most of the province of Pennsylvania was owned by Indians and new counties and new settlements were brought into being with steady regularity, and the first governments defined were very large, nearly county-sized sparsely populated townships. Along with more densely populated boroughs and cities in the state, Pennsylvania townships are generally subordinate to or dependent upon the county level of government to one degree or another. Because of the way the political system progresses community growth and home rule politics under the commonwealth's constitution, it is common to have a township and borough of the same or similar name, generally abutting, and often with the 'town-like' borough partially or wholly surrounded by the remaining township it has split off from. For a general in depth overview of townships, see civil townships.
History
Townships were established based on convenient local geographical boundaries within the borders of the 67 encompassing Pennsylvania counties, and typically vary in size from. There are two classifications of townships, first class and second class. To become a first class township and operate under the powers of the "First Class Township Code" in Pennsylvania statute law, townships of the second class must have a population density of and voters must approve the change of classification in a referendum. The principal difference between the two types is the form and the title, and period of office for the township administrators. In the majority and second-class case, townships have three supervisors elected at large for overlapping six-year terms. In first-class townships, the governing body is 5–15 township commissioners—with two variations: either five commissioners are elected at large, or where population densities permit geopolitical wards be set up, an odd number of commissioners may be periodically elected for four year overlapping terms. However, many townships have chosen to remain second-class townships even though they meet the population density requirements to become first-class townships.
Municipal offices
Townships of the second class have 3–5 township supervisors elected at-large for six-year terms. First class townships' management are termed commissioners and have four-year elections, but are often more frequently running for office in a geographically defined ward.
Any township, regardless of its class, may adopt a home rule charter, at which point it is no longer governed by the Pennsylvania Township Codes. While a home rule charter can incorporate unusual features, the standard municipal functions are generally part of the mix, however the offices and powers are allocated. Generally, townships become boroughs after population growth, should they desire, then might eventually grow to city organized municipalities. Initially, each municipal organization begins as a second class township, then, sufficient population requirements and referendum permitting, may become first-class townships, then Boroughs, and perhaps eventually, incorporate as cities, at each stage by the will of the people in a vote. In this progression, there may be several border adjustments, mergers with other municipalities and decades which pass. The system is flexible. Many choose to remain townships, despite growing to support the characteristically more-urbanized developments and other trappings of towns in other states. Under the Pennsylvania constitution, each polity, each governmental entity, has the right to choose its own form of self-government, and a limited ability to delegate powers and oversight to such entities as authorities, commissions and school boards. There are two types of townships: first class and second class, each operating under its own code of laws. Towns in Pennsylvania, meaning municipal corporate entities with clearly delineated zoning, business districts, main streets and the ambiance a stranger passing through might describe as a town, do not have a legal foundation, but are colloquial word choices for municipalities from small cities down to older townships with well-defined centers.
