Types of Municipal Governments

Types of Municipal Governments

Cities ^[1]

In Pennsylvania, cities can be divided into four classes:

• First Class (> 1,000,000 residents)

• Philadelphia is the only first class city in Pennsylvania
• Governed by home rule charter

• Second Class

• Pittsburgh is the only second class city in Pennsylvania
• Second Class A: in 1927, a new designation was created for Scranton to distinguish it and its needs from Pittsburgh
• Governed by home rule charter

• Third Class

• The remaining 53 cities are all third class cities
• Third class cities are governed by the Third Class City Code

While the state is not able to levy a tax on a specific city, they are able to create taxes that only apply to a certain class of city, allowing the state a work around to create taxes on just Philadelphia or Pittsburgh.

*In order to a second class A city, the city must pass an ordinance

Boroughs

Boroughs are incorporated political subdivisions with defined borders that tend to be smaller by cities and are governed by home rule charters or the Borough Code.^[2] There are 959 boroughs in Pennsylvania, most of which have populations under 5,000. Boroughs tend to have both a mayor and an elected council, and the power is often more heavily concentrated in the council with the mayor taking charge of law enforcement and serving as the tiebreaker in council disagreements.

Townships

Governed by home rule charters or the Township Code, townships are typically even smaller than boroughs.^[3] The 1,546 townships in Pennsylvania are separated into

• First class – a township with at least 300 residents per square mile may vote to become a first class township
• Second class (this is the default)

Townships have supervisors or commissioners who hold the decision making power.

Town

Bloomsburg is the only town in Pennsylvania.^[4] The mayor is a voting member of the council, which otherwise functions in the same way as a township council.

Counties^[5]

All Pennsylvanians live within two municipalities- both a city/borough/township/town and a county. There are 67 counties in the state that are broken into nine classes based on population size. Most counties are governed by a board of commissioners which acts as both a legislative and executive branch, though all counties have the option to appoint a chief administrator (like a town manager) who fills a management role but holds no executive authority.^[6] 

Eight of the 67 counties have adopted a home rule charter and can do anything that is not prohibited by the U.S. or State Constitution, the General Assembly, or its own Home Rule Charter. Those eight counties are: Allegheny, Delaware, Erie, Lackawanna, Lehigh, Luzerne, Northampton, and Philadelphia counties.

Authorities

• Authorities are permitted to work on the following types of projects: (3) Transportation. . . ; (4) Parks, recreation grounds and facilities; (5) Sewers, sewer systems or parts thereof; (6) Sewage treatment works, including works for treating and disposing of industrial waste; (7) Facilities and equipment for the collection, removal or disposal of ashes, garbage, rubbish and other refuse materials by incineration, landfill or other methods; (8) Steam heating plants and distribution systems; (9) Incinerator plants; (10) Waterworks, water supply works, water distribution^[7]

• These are just some of the environment-related powers outlined in the section

• Authorities have the power…

• To make bylaws for the management and regulation of its affairs.
• To do all acts and things necessary or convenient for the promotion of its business and the general welfare of the authority to carry out the powers granted to it by this chapter or other law, including, but not limited to, the adoption of reasonable rules and regulations that apply to water and sewer lines located on a property owned or leased by a customer and to refer for prosecution as a summary offense any violation dealing with rules and regulations relating to water and sewer lines located on a property owned or leased by a customer . . .^[8]

• Municipal authorities “are not creatures, agents or representatives of the municipalities that organize them, but are independent agencies of the Commonwealth. Municipal authorities are separate legal entities from the political subdivisions that created them and they derive their powers from different statutes.”^[9]
• Additional information about authorities is available here and here