The borough was considering a merger with the City of Pottsville. The merger was shot down by the residents, and the borough has been making financial progress since a new council took the helm. In 2019, the borough had no functioning government after the borough secretary resigned and three borough council members quit. That year, John Raess was elected mayor by two write-in votes and borough council member by five write-in votes. Raess was the only person to show up to the borough council reorganization meeting, meaning there would be no functioning government in 2020. As a result, Mount Carbon may have to merge with Pottsville, which would need to be approved by voters in both municipalities. Another option would be to merge with North Manheim Township, though that would force the borough to change school districts.