The Pennsylvania General Assembly back in 1953 set parameters on how counties throughout the state would be governed.

It’s a sliding scale from the largest counties in the state being considered first and second class down to the smallest as seventh and eighth, according to a description by the state court system.

A total of 24 of the state’s 67 counties — Warren included — fall into the sixth class. The classes can fluctuate with population as the decennial Census is used as the bench mark.

Solicitor Nathaniel Schmidt told the county commissioners on Wednesday that the county received a letter from Gov. Tom Wolf back in October stating that the county is eligible to reclassify to the seventh class based on 2020 Census results.

He said sixth class counties are those with a population between 45,000 and 90,000 or those between 35,000 and 45,000 who have elected to remain sixth class.

Warren County hasn’t properly been a sixth class county since 1990, the last year the population of the county exceeded 45,000.

Between 2010 and 2020, the county’s population dipped below 40,000 for the first time since 1910, Census records show.

While the issue is indicative of population change over time, there’s little practical ramification.

Schmidt said he spoke with county departments that he thought may be affected and said “really, there were not any serious material changes that would be implemented going from a sixth to seventh.”

He said changes to the county’s row offices would be seen shifting from a seventh to an eighth class.

Schmidt said there was concern from the county’s Planning Department about a decrease in classification affecting funding eligibility.

“We didn’t run into any concrete examples of that,” he said, telling the commissioners he has not identified “any pro or con” to staying sixth or switching to seventh beyond potential costs and labor required to reorganize as a seventh.

The county has the option for now, but that may not always be the case.

Mandated changes are “really not triggered” until two Census results come in.

“The big number the commissioners will have to keep in mind is 35,000,” he said, noting there is “no discretionary element” if the population falls below that total.

Schmidt did inform the commissioners that if the 2020 Census numbers are current the decline would be “more than any rate we’ve seen over the last 50 years.”

The loss between 2010 and 2020, he said, roughly equated to the populations of Pleasant and Eldred townships combined.

Commissioner Ben Kafferlin said the only possible implication he saw was comparison statistics for staffing levels and pay for county employees.

“We can do that based on population rather than class,” he said, which would “give a more accurate picture anyway.”