Township Roles & Responsibilities
If you've ever wondered what the township, your basic, most local form of government, does for you, here’s a simplified civics lesson:
Township government legally exists primarily to perform three overarching mandated functions assigned respectively to the Supervisor, Treasurer and the Clerk:
There are other, more narrow mandates which are also regulated by the state:
We are legally allowed to offer additional services and programs not mandated by the state but instead permitted by enabling legislation, referred to as “permissive activities.” Examples in Crystal Lake Township are:
Historically, if a specific statute cannot be found that explicitly states or fairly implies that a particular task is a particular office’s responsibility, it is assumed that the duty falls on the Board collectively, or can be assigned to a specific Board member.
- assessment administration
- collection of taxes
- elections administration
There are other, more narrow mandates which are also regulated by the state:
- financial administration including budgets
- accounting, investment
- deposits
- proper storage/conveyance of township records
- proper conduct of township government business
We are legally allowed to offer additional services and programs not mandated by the state but instead permitted by enabling legislation, referred to as “permissive activities.” Examples in Crystal Lake Township are:
- fire protection
- cemeteries
- airport authority
- planning and zoning
- library services
Historically, if a specific statute cannot be found that explicitly states or fairly implies that a particular task is a particular office’s responsibility, it is assumed that the duty falls on the Board collectively, or can be assigned to a specific Board member.
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