Voters approve merger of Mars Borough and Adams Township

Voters in Adams Township and Mars Borough approved a merger Tuesday, Nov. 3, backing a plan to combine the two Butler County municipalities into a single government called Mars Township.

According to unofficial results, Adams Township voters approved the referendum 5,639 to 2,396, with 70.2% voting in favor. In Mars Borough, the measure passed 539 to 138, with 79.6% voting in favor.

“Feels great. Great to be a Martian,” said Russ Ford, chairman of the Adams Township Board of Supervisors.

The merger takes effect Jan. 1, 2028, but residents could see changes a year earlier. Ford said the transition officially begins Jan. 1, 2027, and that officials expect Adams Township to begin handling administrative services for Mars as early as January. He said the goal is to transition police services by the end of March and begin combining public works operations by summer. Mars will pay Adams for administrative and police services during the transition, he said.

Mars Borough Council President Mike Fleming said around-the-clock police coverage is one of the most important changes for borough residents. He said the municipalities already work together in several areas, which should help as they bring road crews, water plant employees and office staff together.

Fleming, who has served on council for 29 years, said the turnout was among the highest he could recall in recent borough history. He said the decision belonged to residents, and he was encouraged by how many took the time to vote. He plans to continue serving the borough through 2027 and has committed to serving on the transition advisory board for at least two years.

For Mars Mayor Gregg Hartung, the vote gives a landlocked borough with a limited tax base a chance to pursue projects it has struggled to take on by itself. He said transition committees will now work through the details of the agreement so the new township has a plan in place when it begins operating.

“The possibilities are more in reach of being able to do some of the things we had hoped to do within the borough,” Hartung said.

Among those projects is a proposed library in downtown Mars. Hartung said the vote allows officials to focus on planning a library for the combined municipality. Ford said he hopes construction can begin by spring 2028.

Ford pointed to the services the two municipalities already share, including fire protection and emergency medical services. Residents also share a school district. Hartung recalled that when Adams was largely a farming community, it relied on Mars for police and fire services. Over time, he said, that relationship shifted as the township grew.

Fleming summed up what the vote meant to him in two short sentences.

“It’s one community,” he said. “It’s we.”