Penn Borough will remain on its own for the time being, after commissioners in neighboring Penn Township voted against merging with the small borough on Wednesday night.

Township commissioners voted 3-1 against moving ahead with the merger, and also voted to end any ongoing merger discussions.

Officials from Penn Borough, a 0.2-square-mile community of about 435 residents, had approached the township in March 2023 about a potential merger.

Under the proposal, the borough would have been absorbed by the 30-square-mile township of about 20,000 residents, forming a unified council and sharing services such as management, public works, recreation and community development.

Both municipalities agreed to consider the plan, partnering with the state Department of Community and Economic Development to complete a study that was presented in late September 2024.

The communities held a joint meeting to gather public feedback in mid-April. Emergency services, road maintenance and finances were among the key talking points raised by the dozens of residents, volunteer firefighters and local officials in attendance.

Township fire officials remained concerned about the financial implications of the merger.

“We are struggling for funding,” Harrison City VFD Chief Gene Good told township commissioners Wednesday night. “We’re not against the merger, but we’d like to know how the funding streams will change if it goes through.”

Good, as well as Claridge VFD Vice President Mike Seice, wanted to know if township funding would be split six ways instead of five.

“Since covid, everything from the cost of trucks to the cost of outfitting a firefighter has gone up,” Seice said. “We’re very grateful for the 1-mill tax that was dedicated to us in 2012, but we’d actually like to see that go up.”

Commissioners needed to vote on the potential merger this month in order to keep to a timeline that would allow them to put it to a voter referendum in November, solicitor Gavin Robb said.

“I’m not full against the merger,” said Commissioner Lisa Zaucha. “But what we found out at the meetings we had is there’s just a lot we don’t know. We don’t know if we’ll have enough money to fund the fire departments, we don’t know what the sewage situation is out there, so my ‘no’ vote is strictly on the timeline.”

“It’s more their loss than ours,” said Penn Borough Council President Randy Dreistadt. “It’s a shame, because we brought this to light in 2023. How much time do they need?”

Township commissioner Chuck Konkus said the majority of constituents he spoke with were against a merger.

“I’m glad we killed this tonight,” he said. “We need to look after the best interests of the community and I want to be accountable to the voters I represent.”

Commissioner Chuck Miller, who previously expressed support for the merger, was not present at the meeting.