In most midwestern states, a civil township often corresponds to a single survey township, but in many cases, especially in less populated areas, the civil township may be made up of all or portions of several survey townships. The most common responsibilities include such things as road maintenance, land use planning, and trash collection. Some additional offices, such as Clerk or Constable, may also be elected. The most common form of township government has an elected board of trustees or supervisors. The responsibilities and the form of the township government is specified by the state legislature. The township is identified by a name, such as Washington Township. They are geographic and political subdivisions of a United States county. The township government is a local unit of government, originally rural in application. This kind of township is similar to geographic townships in the Province of Ontario. They exist in some form in all states west of the original 13 colonies, except Kentucky and Tennessee, plus Maine. Irregular townships with fewer than 36 sections have been created to correct for the Earth's curvature and survey errors. These townships are normally a quadrangle approximately 6 miles on a side with boundaries conforming to meridians and parallels within established limits, containing thirty-six sections, some of which are designated to take up the convergence of the east and west township boundary lines or range lines. Geological Survey maps of the United States of America. A reference to the township will look something like 'T2N R3E,' and the use is fully explained in the PLSS article. Survey townships are generally referred to by a number based on the Public Land Survey System (PLSS).

What is a charter township