Form of Government
Upper Saucon is a Township of the Second Class under the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's system of municipal classification. As such, it operates under the provisions of the Second Class Township Code which sets forth the general and corporate powers of the Township and the manner in which the Township's governing body, the Board of Supervisors, may exercise those powers.

The Board of Supervisors is comprised of 5 members who are elected for staggered 6-year terms. The Board of Supervisors is responsible for setting policy, enacting local ordinances, adopting budgets and levying taxes. Click here to see a list of those individuals who currently serve on the Board of Supervisors.

The Board of Supervisors is assisted and advised by a number of Township boards and commissions whose members are appointed by the Supervisors. The nature of the activities performed by these boards or commissions may be advisory, they may be operational or they may be quasi judicial. Click here to learn more about the various Township Boards and Commissions.

The Board of Supervisors has decided to hire a professional Manager to handle the day-to-day administrative operation of the Township. The Township Manager has no guaranteed term of office but rather serves at the discretion of the Supervisors. Some of the Township Manager's duties include: preparing the budget, directing the day-to-day operations of the municipality and carrying out the policies established by the governing body.

The Second Class Township Code contains few organizational details and allows wide flexibility in defining the Township's operating departments. Upper Saucon has organized separate departments around such functions as roads, water and sewer, police, zoning and planning, and finance. Each department has a department head who answers to the Township Manager.

The basic organizational structure of Township government in Upper Saucon is diagramed below:

Basic Organizational Structure

VOTERS
I
BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
I
TOWNSHIP MANAGER
I I I I I
DEPARTMENT HEADS

In addition to the Board of Supervisors, the Township is also served by an elected Tax Collector and three elected Auditors. The Tax Collector serves a four-year term and the Auditors are elected to a six-year term. The Tax Collector collects school district, county and municipal real estate taxes. In recent years, the Upper Saucon Township Board of Supervisors has decided to have the annual audit performed by a professional firm of certified accountants rather than the elected Auditors. The elected Auditors usually meet once a year to set the compensation of the Supervisors should the Supervisors be called upon to work on the Township roads.