Penn Township and Penn Borough officials will answer residents’ questions Monday on a potential merger of the two communities first pitched about three years ago.
Officials from the borough, a 0.2-square-mile community containing about 435 residents, approached the neighboring township in March 2023 about merging the municipalities. This would mean the borough would be absorbed by the 30-square-mile township, forming a united council and sharing services such as management, public works, recreation and community development.
Both municipalities agreed to consider a merger, partnering with the state Department of Community and Economic Development to complete a study. The results were presented in late September 2024.
A public meeting will be held at 6 p.m. Monday in the LLA room of Penn-Trafford High School, 3381 Route 130 in Penn Township. Residents will be able to learn, ask questions and give input on the potential merger before the issue is placed on their November election ballots.
Several Penn Township officials, including commissioners Jen Ramien and Chuck Miller, told the Trib last month they support the merger.
Penn Borough has maintained financial stability in recent years, but many of its stewards serve the community on a volunteer basis. Borough council President Randy Dreistadt previously told TribLive the system is not sustainable long-term.
Only borough residents would be able to take advantage of a trust fund — the McKee Estate Fund — that has been available to the community since 1974 to pay hospital bills. The fund has an annual budget of $130,000. Patients who are taken to a hospital are required to exhaust their own benefits before relying on the fund, which is managed by PNC Bank.
More on the merger
• Penn township, borough to gather residents’ feedback on potential merger• ‘I’m not going to continue what I’m doing forever’: Penn borough, township consider merger
Six mergers attempted statewide since 2021
A municipal merger, according to Pennsylvania General Assembly’s local government commission, is the “combination of two or more municipalities which results in the termination of all but one … with the surviving municipality absorbing and assuming jurisdiction over the municipalities which have been terminated.”
This differs from a consolidation, which terminates the existing municipalities and creates a new one, according to the commission.
A merger or consolidation of municipalities can be initiated by local government officials or residents through a formal petition process, according to the commission.
In the past five years, there have been six municipal mergers placed on election ballots statewide, said DCED spokesperson Justin Backover. Five of them resulted in successful mergers, Backover said. These include:
• Nov. 2021, Clearfield County — city of DuBois and Sandy Township
• Nov. 2022, Mercer County — city of Hermitage and Wheatland Borough
• Nov. 2023, Lawrence County — Shenango Township and South New Castle Borough
• Nov. 2024, Clinton County — Noyes Township and East Keating Township
• Nov. 2024, Somerset County — Larimer Township and Callimont Borough
The attempted merger of Eldred and Barnett townships in Jefferson County in November 2023 was unsuccessful, according to Backover.
