What 2027 and beyond could look like for ‘Mars Township’ if merger is approved
This Election Day, residents of Mars Borough and Adams Township will vote on a question that could — quite literally — remake the map of Butler County: whether the two municipalities should merge into a single township.
If Adams Township and Mars voters approve the merger question Tuesday, Nov. 3, the two will begin the process of merging into a single municipality planned to be dubbed Mars Township. The process would be set to finish by Jan. 1, 2028.
While there’s no telling whether the merger will be approved, Mars and Adams Township officials have been laying the groundwork for a merger for months.
“By the first of the year, we want to be transferring some administrative stuff over. We want to have the police put in place,” said Adams Township Supervisor Russell Ford. “We want to start moving things so that when Jan. 1 of ’28 comes, it’s virtually just a name change.”
One of the major aspects of bringing Mars and Adams Township together is merging both municipal codes into a single set of ordinances and eliminating any inconsistencies. Mars Borough Councilman G. Michael Fleming said the task has turned out to be easier than expected.
“Frankly, I thought it was going to be a real time-consuming hurdle to get through all that,” Fleming said. “But it’s not appearing all that complicated. They’ve already done the comparison and there’s just not a lot that’s dramatically different.”
Although the two municipalities are separate entities for now, Mars and Adams Township are already collaborating on numerous aspects of municipal government.
Mars has an independent police department. But as of early October, it consists one officer following the resignation of Chief Mark Lint last month. As part of the merger, the department would be absorbed into the Adams Township Police Department under its chief, Shawn Anglum. This would give Mars something it does not currently have — 24-hour police protection.
“We would be offering the current police officer at Mars a job,” Ford said. “If they accept, they’ll come on board with Adams and then in ’27, we will be hiring another officer to replace the chief from Mars.”
For other emergency services, both municipalities are served by the Adams Area Fire District and Quality EMS. Adams Township and Mars are partners in ownership of the Breakneck Creek Regional Authority, which provides public sewer services for both municipalities, as well as the boroughs of Seven Fields and Valencia; portions of Forward Township; and Pine and Richland townships in Allegheny County.
The current Mars Area Public Library serves residents of Mars and Adams Township, along with Middlesex Township and Valencia. Mars and Adams Township residents each hold two seats on the seven-member Mars library board.
In addition, Adams Township is currently providing code enforcement services for Mars temporarily. Mars’ regular code enforcement officer, Allen Russell, is currently on deployment with the U.S. Air Force.
“Our normal guy has been on deployment for about a year now,” Fleming said. “So, Adams has been handling it for us and it’s all been pretty smooth.”
If a merger does take place, the newly-formed Mars Township will operate out of the current Adams Township municipal building on Valencia Road. Ford and Fleming said plans for Mars’ municipal building on Arch Street, as well as its public works building on Spring Street, have yet to be determined.
“I think those are going to be some post-merger conversations that our board and Mars’ board will have to decide in ’27,” Ford said. “Do we want to keep these assets or do we want to sell off these assets? We haven’t talked about that just yet.”
As part of the proposed merger, all of Mars’ elected government positions, including borough council seats and mayor, will be eliminated. The newly-merged township would carry over the structure of Adams Township, including the five-member board of supervisors.
However, both municipalities plan to set up a separate advisory committee, consisting of Adams Township and Mars representatives, to smooth the merger transition. According to the terms of the joint merger resolution which both municipalities approved earlier this year, the committee would serve for two full years, starting Jan. 1, 2027.
“We initially said two years, but I think we could go two years or longer, if needed,” Ford said.
In addition, one seat on the Adams Township board of supervisors — Ronald Nacey — is set to expire at the end of 2027, right before the merger would take effect, if it is approved. It would leave an opportunity for a Mars resident to run for the seat.
