The Borough of Mount Gretna is the municipal governing body covering the same geographical area as the Pennsylvania Chautauqua. The Borough provides civil services for homeowners in the Borough plus some contracted services for other areas of the Mount Gretna community. Responsibilities of the Borough include public streets, lighting, trash collection and recycling, leaf removal, police services, snow removal and public ordinances. Borough maintenance personnel also provide a wide range of contracted services for the Chautauqua and for some other areas of the community.

The Borough established the Water & Sewer Authority, a separate entity that is responsible for the maintenance and operation of the water and sewer systems. It is also responsible for the wastewater treatment plant located to the west of Mount Gretna.