Earlier this month, Curtis Mason was elected to serve as the chairman of the Penn Township Board of Supervisors.

Mason has had a leading role in the township for more than 20 years, serving as the chairman of the board of supervisors during a time when the township has evolved into one of the best-managed municipalities in the entire region.

During the last two decades, Penn Township developed into a hub for commercial and retail activity, providing a strong tax base for the Avon Grove School District. It is the home to several health care facilities and age-restricted communities, increasing the quality of life for southern Chester County residents who are interested in aging in place rather than fleeing for warmer climates. The health care facilities and age-restricted communities broaden the tax base while not adding students to the local school district, another plus when it comes to keeping taxes in check.

Mason and the other supervisors who have served Penn Township in the last two decades also get credit for running a small, efficient government that operates with an eye on the bottom line. The supervisors have kept expenditures to a minimum, maintaining only a small staff to handle the responsibilities that Penn Township has. Developers have been held accountable when it comes to making the necessary improvements to roads, extending public sewer lines or expanding the capacity of the wastewater treatment plant when it was still owned by the township.

The township took the step of buying and expanding the wastewater treatment plant when it was absolutely necessary to allow for growth in the commercial corridor, but then the wastewater system was sold when it was going to become a financial burden to taxpayers.

The township purchased the Red Rose Inn, preserving an important part of the township's history, but also paving the way for much-needed improvements to the intersection next to the inn—by far the busiest intersection in the township.

Mason has been a maestro of small, efficient government. He has, for more than 20 years, lived and breathed Penn Township business, dedicating untold thousands of hours of his time to the work that needed to be done. As a result of that work, Penn Township serves as a model for how municipalities can, and should, operate.