Penn Township Structure

Penn Township is a Second Class Township. A township, like a city, borough, and town – is a municipality – the smallest form of government in the United States. A municipality is created by its home state, as a municipal corporation.

Township government, established in Providence, Rhode Island in 1636, is the oldest existing unit of government continuing to serve on the North American continent. Township government was in existence for 140 years prior to the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776.” [Source]. The Province of Pennsylvania, also known as the Pennsylvania Colony, was founded in English North America by William Penn on March 4, 1681. The state of Pennsylvania was the second to ratify the United States Constitution and to be admitted to the union, on December 12, 1787.

Penn Township is governed by a board of five elected supervisors; some township’s have three supervisors on each of their boards. Each supervisor is elected to a six-year term and each get’s a $2,500 a year stipend from the township for service – according to the Pennsylvania Second Class Township Code: “supervisors shall reside in the township from which elected and shall have resided in that township continuously for at least one year before their election.”

The board of supervisors is a legislative body like the United States Congress and the Pennsylvania General Assembly. The township board has some administrative and financial duties.

Other elected officials in Penn Township are auditor, constable, and tax collector. The rest of the township’s officials and staff are appointed or hired by the board of supervisors.

PA DCED – Municipal Statistics

PA State Association of Township Supervisors – About Pa. Townships

Wikipedia – Township (Pennsylvania)

Citizen’s Guide to Pennsylvania Local Government

Local Government Commission of the Pennsylvania General Assembly

PennWatch – An Open Window Into Your State Government