Which Of These Three States Do Townships Carry The Most Weight?

[MarketStEl]

Originally Posted by LINative

It looks like the 3 upper Mid-Atlantic states have the craziest hybrid system of local government. Strong local governments townships/boroughs/cities in PA, towns/cities in New York and EVERYTHING in New Jersey, lol. Combined with county government, weaker than much of the country but still stronger then in New England.

And I think that can answer the OPs question. Compare the county governments of Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Michigan - whichever state has the weakest county government probably has the strongest local (township) government.

Hmmm.

I'm not sure how we'd go about measuring that.

County governments in Pennsylvania do operate courts and maintain roads, even in municipalities — they'd have to, since every square inch of the Commonwealth lies within the boundaries of an incorporated municipality (township, borough, city or home rule municipality). They also have some responsibility for land use planning but no control over zoning, which is a strictly municipal function. Counties also run prisons and have sheriff's departments responsible for running them.

Schools are also a local rather than a county responsibility. But in contrast to New Jersey, where it seems every municipality has its own school district, Pennsylvania does have regional school districts covering multiple municipalities.

What's the situation in New Jersey and Michigan?

[LINative]

Originally Posted by MarketStEl

Hmmm.

I'm not sure how we'd go about measuring that.

County governments in Pennsylvania do operate courts and maintain roads, even in municipalities — they'd have to, since every square inch of the Commonwealth lies within the boundaries of an incorporated municipality (township, borough, city or home rule municipality). They also have some responsibility for land use planning but no control over zoning, which is a strictly municipal function. Counties also run prisons and have sheriff's departments responsible for running them.

Schools are also a local rather than a county responsibility. But in contrast to New Jersey, where it seems every municipality has its own school district, Pennsylvania does have regional school districts covering multiple municipalities.

What's the situation in New Jersey and Michigan?

That sounds pretty similar to the basic function of what counties do in New York (they can be upgraded to charter counties though).

I could be wrong but I think New Jersey is similar regarding zoning and land use otherwise I probably would have heard questionable decisions like Essex, Union or Hudson counties putting 10 story apartment buildings all over the place. As far as I know they don't. New Jersey counties like Essex and Union do run some pretty decent county park systems though.

Not sure about Michigan at all.

[MarketStEl]

Originally Posted by LINative

That sounds pretty similar to the basic function of what counties do in New York (they can be upgraded to charter counties though).

I could be wrong but I think New Jersey is similar regarding zoning and land use otherwise I probably would have heard questionable decisions like Essex, Union or Hudson counties putting 10 story apartment buildings all over the place. As far as I know they don't. New Jersey counties like Essex and Union do run some pretty decent county park systems though.

Not sure about Michigan at all.

I'm guessing that New York State charter counties are akin to home rule counties in Pennsylvania (seven of the state's 67 counties have home rule charters; an eighth, Philadelphia, is one with its sole municipality, which has a home rule charter).