Townships are administrative units of state government whose original purpose was to facilitate the survey and sale of land.  The responsibilities of townships vary greatly depending upon the degree of urbanization.  Some townships are densely populated and have major urban problems, while others are mostly farm land with associated problems.

The Township Trustees are in charge of carrying out the legislative authority that the Ohio Revised Code Section 505 through 505.94  allows them to do.  This gives them authority to take care of the Township Roads by snow removal , mowing grass along the sides, and to do patchwork and paving, to provide Police and Fire protection to the community, establish Parks and set rules for them,  establish zoning rules and regulations and see that they are administered as they want it to be, manage and oversee   all policies and rules that they set forth as well as those already set forth in the legislative authority  given to  them in the Ohio Revised Code. 

Hamilton Township Trustees

Township Trustees appoint/hire the various department heads to administer  the daily duties of their departments, they set policies for all employees to follow and combine them  with  the laws  mandated by the Ohio  Revised Code.

Townships were the "first form of local government" in Ohio and were plotted according to a basic policy for the survey and sale of public lands.  With the formation of the Ohio Territory under the Northwest Ordinance of 1787, these six-mile township squares were used as the primary means  of establishing local civil governments in the territory.  Since the adoption of the 1851 Ohio Constitution, the basic form of township government has remained relatively unchanged.  Governed by three elected  Trustees to be their executive officers serving four-year terms    A Board of Township Trustees is the legislative authority and also fulfills many executive responsibilities as  well.   A  fourth elected official, Township Fiscal Officer, is independent of the Trustees, yet by law must work closely with the Trustees.  There are over 1,300 townships in Ohio today, some are large some are small with varied populations.

The legislative authority  provides for larger townships to be able to appoint/hire an  administrator to help assist  the  Township Trustees   .  This administrator will carry out the duties that have been given to the Trustees both through legislation as well as what they have set themselves.
The Township Trustee wears many hats during their term in office, and deals with many more issues than is mentioned in the Ohio Revised Code.

Hamilton Township is a Home Rule Township and therefore is allowed to set ordinances,  have a full-time Police and Fire Chief, and a legal counsel  separate from the County Prosecutor;   However even a Home Rule Township must follow the laws that have been set for them in legislation  and cannot change them  or set rules and ordinances that would conflict with them.

The section  that covers Optional Limited Self-Government can be found in section 504 of the  O.R.C.  This section explains the extra  benefits that were given to Townships through its passage in 1991.  Hamilton Township adopted it by vote of the public  in 1993.

It allows the Township Trustees  local self-government within the unincorporated area of the Township, to exercise all powers, other than powers that are in conflict with general laws that have been set by previous legislation.The Township shall comply with the requirements and prohibitions of chapter 504. of the Ohio Revised Code and shall not enact any taxes other than those authorized by general law, and shall not encroach on the powers, duties and privileges of elected township officers or change, alter, combine, eliminate, or modify the form or structure of the township government unless changes are required by laws set forth in   Optional Limited Self-Government Townships  as established in chapter 504 of the Ohio  Revised  Code.

The Township must appoint a full-time or part time law director aside from the County Prosecutor. It must also form a Police District for all of the unincorporated portion of the Township.

Home Rule has given townships some extended authority in that allows township's that have adopted it to provide services very close to those that a village or city are allowed to and yet they have to incorporate the rules  according to the previous laws set by legislation in many areas.

Township Government is still  Grass Roots Government  that is closest to it's people.

Becky Ehling
Kurt Weber
Eugene Duvelius