A civil township is a widely used unit of local government in the United States, subordinate to a county. Specific responsibilities and the degree of autonomy vary based on each state. Civil townships are distinct from survey townships, but in states that have both, the boundaries often coincide. The U.S. Census Bureau classifies civil townships (called "towns" in some states) as minor civil divisions.
Township functions are generally attended to by a governing board (the name varies from state to state) and a clerk. Township officers frequently include justice of the peace, road commissioner, assessor, constable, and surveyor. In the 20th century many townships also added a township administrator or supervisor to the officers as an executive for the board. In some cases townships run local libraries, senior citizen services, youth services, disabled citizen services, emergency assistance, and even cemetery services.
Midwestern, central and western states
Most western states have only survey townships, such that all local government outside of incorporated municipalities is performed at the county level.
In the Upper Midwestern states near the Great Lakes, civil townships (known in Michigan as general law townships[1]) are overlaid on the survey townships. The degree to which these townships are functioning governmental entities varies from state to state and in some cases even within a state. For example, in Illinois townships in the northern part of the state are active in providing public services -- such as road maintenance, after-school care, and senior services -- whereas townships in southern Illinois frequently abandon these services in favor of the county. Most townships in Illinois also provide services such as snow removal, senior transportation and emergency services to households residing in unincorporated parts of the county.
Civil townships in these states are generally not considered to be incorporated, and nearby cities may annex land in adjoining townships with relative ease. In Michigan, general law townships can incorporate as charter townships, a status intended to protect against annexation from nearby municipalities and which grants the township some home rule powers similar to cities. In Wisconsin, such regions are known as "towns" rather than townships, but they are essentially the same thing. In Minnesota, state statute refers to such entities as towns yet requires them to have a name in the form "Name Township". In both documents and conversation, "town" and "township" are used interchangeably. Minnesota townships can be either Non-Urban or Urban (giving the township government greater power), but this is not reflected in the township's name.
Pennsylvania and New Jersey
A Pennsylvania township is a unit of local government, responsible for services such as local road and street maintenance outside of cities or boroughs. Townships were established based on convenient geographical boundaries and vary in size from six to forty square miles (10–74 km²). New Jersey township is a form of municipal government equal in status to a village, town, borough, or city.
Northeastern states
In New England and New York, counties are further subdivided into towns and cities, the principal forms of local government. Some residents of these states do not generally recognize the word "township" as applying to their local governments, although the U.S. Census Bureau treats them identically. (Even though towns in these states are legally equal to cities in status, the Census is more concerned with patterns of settlement and development than the means of government; New England and New York towns are similar to townships in the northern Midwest in typically having one or more small built-up central districts surrounded by a much larger area of less intensive development. However, cities in New England may have this development pattern as well.) In sparsely settled portions of Maine and New Hampshire, county subdivisions that are not incorporated are referred to as townships.
Southern states
In the South, outside of cities and towns there is generally no local government beyond the county. As these states were surveyed prior to the Northwest Ordinance, there are generally no survey townships, either, although there are in Alabama, as Alabama Territory was relatively late in being established.
North Carolina is an exception to this rule, and even the towns have townships due to extraterritorial jurisdiction. Numerous independent townships also exist, as every county is divided into townships as mandated since the North Carolina Constitution of 1868. Some urbanized counties such as Mecklenburg County (Charlotte) now number their townships (i.e. "Township 12") rather than using their real names. Townships all over the state used to have some official organization and duties, but now are only considered ceremonial divisions of each county, used on land surveys and other real estate documents.
