FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP FACTS

This fact sheet is intended to inform new residents, and those
who are interested, of important township facts.

Franklin Township is the largest township in area, and fourth in population, in Adams County. It is 70.2 square miles in area. One-third of the township consists of State Forest. The Boundary on the west is to Caledonia; on the South to Jack Road; on the north to Stillhouse Hollow above Birch Run and Long Pine Reservoir; on the east to Marsh Creek, just west of Knoxlyn Road. A small portion of Arendtsville is located in the township. The population in 1800, when Adams County was formed from part of York County, was counted at 1,023 people. At the last census in 2010, the population had risen to 5,461.

Because Pennsylvania is a Commonwealth, the counties are broken down into townships, which is your basic local government. Adams County has 21 townships. The townships are governed by an elected Board of Supervisors. Most townships, like Franklin Township, have 3 persons on the Board of Supervisors. The term of office of a Supervisor is 6 years. Currently, 5 townships in Adams County have Boards with 5 Supervisors. The Franklin Township Board of Supervisors meets on the first Thursday of every month. The meeting begins at 7:00pm. Any resident is welcome to attend the meeting and may speak before the Board, if they wish.

Franklin Township also has the most miles of roads in the county. There are 11.80 miles of dirt roads and 67.69 miles of paved roads for a total of 79.49 miles of roads to be maintained by a road crew of 3 full time employees. All snow removal is done by the road crew. The township has 9 pieces of equipment capable of snow removal. The snow removal plan is as follows: there are 3 large dump trucks that plow, each having their own route. A small dump truck does most of the dirt roads and the more narrow roads. A 1 ton truck helps with the dirt roads and does the intersections. During a snow storm, each driver begins his route at the township building. The main routes and the school bus routes are concentrated on first, but all roads are plowed and cindered. Each route takes approximately 4-1/2 to 5 hours to complete one round, depending of course, that there are no breakdowns. In the case of severe blizzard conditions, the township uses other contractors and the township’s larger equipment to assist in snow removal. People complain that the plows put snow back in their driveways after they have shoveled them out but there is just no way that the plows can get the snow off the road if they lift the plows at every driveway. Township employees have their driveways plowed shut, too!

TOWNSHIP PERSONNEL:
Board of Supervisors (Elected) -
Henry (JR) Crushong (term ends 2025), Christopher Santay (term ends 2027) and Matthew Williams (term ends 2029).
Secretary/Treasurer - Susan Plank (appointed by Supervisors)
Assistant Secretary - Supervisor on an as needed basis (appointed by Supervisors)
Zoning and Permitting - PA Municipal Code Alliance, Inc. (appointed by Supervisors)
Code Enforcement - PA Municipal Code Alliance, Inc. (appointed by Supervisors)
Solicitor - Bernard Yanetti, Jr. (appointed by Supervisors)
Engineer - KPI Technology - Tim Knoebel - (appointed by Supervisors)
Sewage Enforcement Officer - Gil Picarelli - (appointed by Supervisors)
Phone Number 339-0612
Emergency Management Coordinator - Jed Smith
Road Crew - Curtis MacBeth - Roadmaster, Dale Byers, Assistant Roadmaster, Chris Elliott and Harry Melhourn, Flex Employee.
Tax Collector(Elected) - Jamie Gebhart
Township Auditors(Elected) - Gregory Osmolenski, Bruce Strausbaugh, and Eric Miller.  As of January 1998, the only duty of the elected auditors is to set the hourly wage of the Supervisors and set the mileage rate, based on the IRS Mileage rate. A CPA firm now does the actual audit of the township financial records.
Police protection is provided by the Pennsylvania State Police.
Fire Protection is provided by Cashtown Community Fire Department and Buchanan Valley Fire. Department and a small portion by Arendtsville Fire Company. All are volunteer fire companies. The township pays the  workman's compensation for the fire fighters in addition to cash donations.

Fire Companies and Ambulance Service - call 911
Pennsylvania State Police - call 334-8111

Wildlife concerns - Pennsylvania Game Commission
Phone Number 877-877-9107

Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission
Phone Number 717-486-7087

Humane Officer - Contact the SPCA at 334-8876 for information.
Trash Collection/Recycling - The Supervisors have signed a contract with Waste Connections of Chambersburg, PA to provide trash collection. This includes 1 large item pickup per week. Recycling is also an option. It is the responsibility of the residents to contact Waste Connections to arrange for pickup and to pay the charges for trash collection. Waste Connections 1-877-709-1700 or 717-709-1700 or on the website at www.wasteconnectionspa.com.
Planning Commission is a 7 member board. At this time the members consist of: Dennis Robinson, Dale Graves, Jed Fetter, JR Crushong, Gary Deardorff, James McDannell, and Eric Miller, who also serves as secretary and Kathleen Reilly serves as Alternate.  The Planning Commission meets on the third Wednesday of every month at 7:00 p.m. The Planning Commission also has a Workshop on the third Wednesday of every month at 6:00 p.m.
Zoning Hearing Board is a 3 member board. Members are: Darrin Flake., Brad Sanders, and David Kuhn. Alternate member - Vacancy      Matthew Battersby is the Zoning Hearing Board Solicitor.  The Zoning Hearing Board meets as needed.
Franklin Township Municipal Authority (Water Company) is a 5 member board. Members are: , Darrin Flake, Andrew Hansen, Robert Martin, Dawn Williams, Willie Heckman, and Deb Hahn, Secretary/Treasurer.  The Authority only serves the Cashtown Area. Meetings are held on the first Tuesday of every month.
Fee schedule summary:
Use & Occupancy Certificate Fee - $20.00 (needed for any building)
Building Permit - contact PA Municipal Code Alliance, Inc. - 717-496-4996
Storage Permit - $50.00
Septic Fees - Contact Gil Picarelli for fees or see fee schedule in office lobby.
Driveway Permit - $35.00 (for township roads only. If on a state road, must contact Penn DOT)                                          Demolition Permit - $35.00
Home Occupation Permit - $50.00
Zoning Hearing Board - $750.00
Subdivision - $750.00 - Minor (4 lots without road),
$1200.00 - Major (all other subdivisions).
The subdivider is responsible for any review fees over and above stated fees.
**Fees must be paid at the time preliminary plans are submitted. Plans will not be recorded until all fees are paid.

***This is a summary of the Township Fee Schedule. The Fee Schedule can be viewed in its entirety at the township office.

Taxes - The Township Real Estate tax rate is .5264 mils. The Township also gets $5.00 of the per capita tax. There is an occupational privilege tax of $10.00 and an earned income tax of 1.7%. The township taxes are the lowest of the three taxing entities, Township, County and School. The Township has enacted a Fire/EMS tax effective 2014. The rate is .25 mils.

Subdivisions - If you plan on doing a subdivision or land development please ask for the subdivision/land development checklist which gives you all of the steps required to complete a subdivision or land development.

Municipal Building & Office Hours - The Municipal Building is located at 55 Scott School Road, which is off the Orrtanna Road, 1 mile outside of Cashtown. Office hours are: 7:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Monday through Thursday.

The office telephone number is 334-4901, ext. 100.
Web site is www.franklintwp.us.