Ohio Townships
How Townships Began
The Pilgrim fathers brought the township form of government to America in 1620. This unit of local government eventually spread as far west as the Rocky Mountains. Today, it is found in 20 states, known as the town or township.
Today, just as in 1804, the township is a political subdivision of the state. To keep pace with the demands of changing times, the functions, duties and obligations of the township have changed over the years. Demands for increased or different services have prompted the state legislature to grant Ohio’s 1,308 townships the authority to fulfill these changing needs.
Three trustees and a fiscal officer, each elected to a four-year term, administer our townships today. Additionally, some townships now appoint a township administrator, whose duties are defined by the Ohio Revised Code and the individual township. The township administrator typically helps plan, coordinate and implement township goals.
Elected officials fill their roles on a part-time basis. Their intimate knowledge of their community, its needs and its citizens enables them to offer more personal service than any other unit of government.
What Townships Do
State law authorizes Ohio townships to operate under a basic form of government and perform a wide variety of functions. There are 1,308 townships in Ohio and they are varied in population size, annual operating budget, and range of services delivered to residents.
Ohio townships most commonly provide residents with services such as road maintenance, cemetery management, police and fire protection, emergency medical services, solid waste disposal, and zoning. Ohio townships have direct responsibility for maintaining 41,000 miles of roads and streets, and townships manage more than 2,400 cemeteries.
Township Elections
Candidates for Ohio township office — as a trustee or fiscal officer — must be a resident of the township in which they are running for election.
Nominations of candidates for election as township officials must be made by a nominating petition, unless a majority of township residents have petitioned for a primary election. The nominating petitions must be signed by 25 township residents and filed with the county board of elections at least 90 days before the general election.
Township officials are elected on a nonpartisan ballot in the November general election, in odd-numbered years. The filing fee for candidates is $10.
Every other year, half of the township officials are up for election. Two township trustees will be up for election in 2017. In 2019, the remaining township trustee and fiscal officer will also be up for election.
Township trustees and fiscal officers serve four-year terms, unless an official retires or steps down, at which point someone is appointed to carry out the remainder of the term. Term of office for a township trustee begins Jan. 1 following election, and township fiscal officers start April 1 after election.
Township trustees and fiscal officers must take an oath of office. That oath is administered by an elected or appointed official.