A metro township was a type of municipal government[1] in Utah equivalent to a civil township. These were first allowed in Utah starting in 2015 (per Senate Bill 199 – the Community Preservation Act) both to allow existing unincorporated communities to avoid piecemeal annexation, and to give those residents some say in local government, without creating additional government overhead. While each metro township had a mayor[2] and township council, managed a budget, and could not be annexed without its permission, its powers of taxation were limited, and it had to contract with other municipalities and/or municipal shared-service districts[3] for most municipal services (police,[4] for example). The five metro townships – all located in Salt Lake County – were Kearns,[5] Magna,[6] Copperton,[7] Emigration Canyon[8] and White City.[9] In March 2024, Governor Spencer Cox signed a bill that eliminated the metro township designation, converting the five existing metro townships into cities with taxing authority.[10][11]
References
edit- ^ "What is a Metro Township? | Magna Utah". www.magnametrotownship.org. Retrieved February 22, 2020.
- ^ "With a stroke of his pen, Utah governor gives township leaders the title of mayor". www.sltrib.com. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
- ^ "Greater Salt Lake Municipal Services District". msd.utah.gov. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
- ^ "Meet the Unified Police Department of Greater Salt Lake". updsl.org. Retrieved March 18, 2020.
- ^ "Metro Township of Kearns, Utah". www.kmtutah.org. Retrieved March 20, 2020.
- ^ "Metro Township of Magna, Utah". www.magnametrotownship.org. Retrieved March 18, 2020.
- ^ "Metro Township of Copperton, Utah". coppertonutah.org. Retrieved March 20, 2020.
- ^ "Metro Township of Emigration Canyon, Utah". www.ecmetro.org. Retrieved March 20, 2020.
- ^ "Metro Township of White City, Utah". whitecity-ut.org. Retrieved March 20, 2020.
- ^ Sharp, Jonathan (February 16, 2024). "Bill would turn Salt Lake Co.'s 5 metro townships into cities, give them taxing authority". Salt Lake City: KTVX. Retrieved May 13, 2024.
- ^ Metro Township Modifications (House Bill 35). Utah State Legislature. March 20, 2024. Retrieved May 13, 2024.