Government

Second Class Township

Until 2007, Lower Macungie was a Pennsylvania Township of the Second Class, and governed by a three-member Board of Supervisors who were elected for staggered six-year terms. Traditionally, the supervisors did little more than ensure that the township's roads were maintained in good condition. As state regulations changed and as development increased, the position evolved into a complex one requiring a working knowledge of land use, planning, road building, state and federal regulations, finances, and many other areas. Townships, including Lower Macungie, increasingly relied on professionals to advise the board.

With increases in the population during the 1970s, township officials introduced services that had not been needed before. Among these were:

  • Sanitary sewers
  • Public water
  • Widened roads
  • Traffic lights
  • Parks for youth sports and general recreation
  • A few historic preservation efforts

Zoning and land development ordinances and building codes were enacted, and fees for services such as street lights and trash collection.

First Class Township

In 2007, voters decided that Lower Macungie should become a Township of the First Class. From January 2008 to December 2009 a court-appointed board of five commissioners governed the township. The first elections for Township Commissioners was held in November 2009, when three citizens were elected to four-year terms and two residents were elected to two-year terms.

The township offices on Indian Creek Road were moved in 1991 to their present location on Brookside Road, after the Board of Supervisors purchased the former clubhouse of Brookside Country Club and renovated the interior to serve as offices and meeting rooms. The acquisition gave township residents a municipal swimming pool in addition to significantly greater office space. In 2001, the Township Community Center and Library opened its doors to all township residents.

Historical Resources

In 2017, the township provided a space for the Lower Macungie Township Historical Society to create a history museum in the lower portion of the small Camp Olympic barn. Information about the museum, upcoming events, and our local history is available at the Lower Macungie Township Historical Society website.

Some of the information in this brief history of Lower Macungie Township can be read in more detail in A History of Lower Macungie Township (1976; second edition 1996), which can be found in the Lower Macungie Library. It may be purchased at the library and the township offices, and at historical society events.