Berne Township is one of the thirteen townships

Civil township

A civil township is a widely used unit of local government in the United States, subordinate to, and geographic divisions of, a county. Specific responsibilities and the degree of autonomy vary based on each state. Civil townships are distinct from survey townships, but in states that have both,...

 of Fairfield County

Fairfield County, Ohio

Fairfield County is a county located in the state of Ohio, United States. As of 2010, the population was 146,156. Its county seat is Lancaster. Its name is a reference to the Fairfield area of the original Lancaster....

, Ohio

Ohio

Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. The 2000 census

United States Census, 2000

The Twenty-second United States Census, known as Census 2000 and conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2% over the 248,709,873 persons enumerated during the 1990 Census...

 found 4,969 people in the township, 4,521 of whom lived in the unincorporated portions of the township.

Geography

Located in the southern part of the county, it borders the following townships:

• Pleasant Township
  Pleasant Township, Fairfield County, Ohio
  Pleasant Township is one of the thirteen townships of Fairfield County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 5,549 people in the township, 5,039 of whom lived in the unincorporated portions of the township.-Geography:...
  
   - north
• Rush Creek Township
  Rush Creek Township, Fairfield County, Ohio
  Rush Creek Township is one of the thirteen townships of Fairfield County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 3,549 people in the township, 2,284 of whom lived in the unincorporated portions of the township.-Geography:...
  
   - northeast
• Marion Township, Hocking County
  Marion Township, Hocking County, Ohio
  Marion Township is one of the eleven townships of Hocking County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 2,411 people in the township.-Geography:Located in the northern part of the county, it borders the following townships:...
  
   - southeast
• Good Hope Township, Hocking County
  Good Hope Township, Hocking County, Ohio
  Good Hope Township is one of the eleven townships of Hocking County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 1,444 people in the township.-Geography:Located in the northwestern part of the county, it borders the following townships:...
  
   - south
• Madison Township
  Madison Township, Fairfield County, Ohio
  Madison Township is one of the thirteen townships of Fairfield County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 1,385 people in the township.-Geography:Located in the southern part of the county, it borders the following townships:...
  
   - southwest
• Hocking Township
  Hocking Township, Fairfield County, Ohio
  Hocking Township is one of the thirteen townships of Fairfield County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 4,812 people in the township.-Geography:Located in the southern part of the county, it borders the following townships:...
  
   - west
• Greenfield Township
  Greenfield Township, Fairfield County, Ohio
  Greenfield Township is one of the thirteen townships of Fairfield County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 4,944 people in the township, 4,465 of whom lived in the unincorporated portions of the township.-Geography:...
  
   - northwest corner

Two municipalities are located in Berne Township: part of the city of Lancaster

Lancaster, Ohio

Lancaster is a city in Fairfield County, Ohio, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 38,780. It is located near the Hocking River, approximately southeast of Columbus, Ohio. It is the county seat of Fairfield County...

, the county seat

County seat

A county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....

 of Fairfield County, in the northwest; and the village of Sugar Grove

Sugar Grove, Ohio

Sugar Grove is a village in Fairfield County, Ohio, United States. The population was 448 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Sugar Grove is located at ....

 in the south.

Name and history

It is the only Berne Township statewide, although there is a Bern Township in Athens County

Bern Township, Athens County, Ohio

Bern Township is one of the fourteen townships of Athens County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 519 people in the township.-Geography:Located in the northeastern corner of the county, it borders the following townships:...

.

Government

The township is governed by a three-member board of trustees, who are elected in November of odd-numbered years to a four-year term beginning on the following January 1. Two are elected in the year after the presidential election and one is elected in the year before it. There is also an elected township fiscal officer, who serves a four-year term beginning on April 1 of the year after the election, which is held in November of the year before the presidential election. Vacancies in the fiscal officership or on the board of trustees are filled by the remaining trustees.