Citizens elect a seven member council which is the legislative and policy making body.

How did we become a Borough?

    Somerset Borough was laid out in 1795 and incorporated in 1804. Named for Somerset County, the Borough was designated as the county seat when Somerset County was formed from Bedford County in 1795. The name "Somerset" derived from the same name in England.

    Located in the central portion of Somerset County, Somerset Borough is surrounded by Somerset Township, with Quemahoning, Lincoln and Jefferson Townships to the west, and Stoneycreek and Brothersvalley Township to the east. The area is drained by Coxes Creek, which empties into the Ohio River.

    The Borough of Somerset has a land area of 2.895 square miles, or 1,344 acres. Recent data indicates that there are:

Somerset Borough, with a 1990 population of 6,454 is the physical and community hub of Somerset County. It is the only town having an entrance to the Pennsylvania Turnpike within its Borough limits. In addition, one interstate and two highways are routed through the center of town. U.S. 219, providing north-south movement through Pennsylvania, utilizes North Center Avenue and East Main Street. PA Route 31, providing east-west passage, traverses Patriot Street as well as East Main Street. The State Legislative Route 55067-55043 also passes throughout our central business district.

    Increases in population, and commercial and industrial establishments, have increased the demand for upgraded water and sewer facilities, etc. Our water treatment plant can now produce two million gallons per day, with average daily pumping of 1.5 million gallons. Our sewage treatment plant has been expanded to twice its original capacity. We can now treat up to two million gallons of sewage a day and can accommodate up to five million during peak development in the Borough for years to come.

Somerset Borough was designated a "Main Street" Community by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in 1994. The organization responsible for the implementation of the Borough's Main Street Program is entitled "Somerset Inc."

    The Commonwealth's "Main Street Program" assist a community to revitalize its central business district by developing and implementing a strategy for economic development, with special emphasis on historic preservation. Financial assistance is available for a four year period to help communities manage their downtown revitalization. 

    The "Main Street" approach is a comprehensive process that addresses certain aspects of an area's image, such as:

    To insure a successful effort, these four points must be carried out in a comprehensive fashion. The basic grant must be used to hire a full-time Main Street Manager. Additionally in years two, three, and four, $15,000 is made available from the State to fund store-front improvements in the "Main Street" project area. Somerset Inc. was formed to develop strategies to lessen the impact of the loss of several major retail stores in Somerset Borough's Central Business District. This organization represents the broad community concern and support for the revitalization of the Central Business District.

    Somerset Inc. is also responsible for forging a public/private partnership as a means of generating individual economic revitalization projects, determined to be vital to the overall success of the program.

    The Board has developed its own operating policies to insure effective control over the operation of the program and the faithful implementation of state board policies. Somerset Inc. is responsible for formulating operating policies, providing supervision for staff and volunteer support, and providing for the implementation and oversight of the Main Street Program. The Borough acts as the grantee and provides administrative assistance to the Somerset Main Street Program.

The Somerset Borough Main Street Program provides professional leadership and guidance to a business community that has experienced many of the same economic hardships of small town business centers throughout the country. The Somerset Program however, offers an opportunity for successful responding to these economic conditions through the continuation of the basic foundations of the Main Street Program. The Program provides the necessary catalyst to bring the community's economic revitalization needs into focus and guide Somerset on it's return to economic vitality.