Summary
This consolidated Pennsylvania Supreme Court case concerns whether the City of Chester may unilaterally acquire Chester Water Authority projects under Section 5622(a) of the Municipal Authorities Act. The majority concluded that the City no longer possesses unilateral authority to compel conveyance because the Authority's governing structure changed, while Justice Mundy concurred in part and dissented from that holding. The opinion also addresses the relationship between Sections 5619(a), 5610(a.1), and 5622(a) of the Act.
Court
Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, Middle District
Jurisdiction
Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, Middle District
Decision date
January 21, 2026
Docket number
46 MAP 2022; 47 MAP 2022; 48 MAP 2022; 49 MAP 2022; 50 MAP 2022; 51 MAP 2022; 52 MAP 2022; 53 MAP 2022
Disposition
reversed_and_remanded
Questions Presented
- Whether the City of Chester may unilaterally compel conveyance of Chester Water Authority projects under 53 Pa.C.S. § 5622(a) after Act 73 replaced the Authority's single-municipality board with a board appointed by the City, Chester County, and Delaware County.
- Whether Section 5610(a.1) gives municipalities required to appoint members to a water or sewer authority board the same conveyance rights as municipalities that voluntarily incorporate or join a joint authority.
- Whether Burke v. North Huntingdon Township Municipal Authority controlled the question whether the Authority itself must approve a conveyance under Section 5622(a).
Holdings
- Section 5622(a) permits conveyance only of a project that is presently of a character which the municipality or municipalities have the power to establish, maintain, or operate, and the municipality or municipalities that presently control the authority may effectuate the conveyance through an appropriate resolution or ordinance.
- After Section 5610(a.1) replaced the Authority's Old Board with a New Board appointed by the City, Chester County, and Delaware County, the City no longer possessed unilateral authority under Section 5622(a) to acquire the Authority's projects.
- Burke's statements that an authority must authorize a conveyance under the predecessor to Section 5622(a) were dicta and did not control the statutory-interpretation question presented.
Court Document
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