OUR VIEW 1997 Legislature was less circus-like Townships: In 1996, the Legislature's hastily crafted and passed township bill came back to haunt the 1997 session. After a year's work by committed volunteers and civic-minded citizens who worked to create townships, the Legislature compounded its comedy of errors by nullifying some townships and gutting the power of others. In lawmakers' attempts to fix last year's poorly written law, they insulted all those people who cast votes in favor of township creation in November. Grade: F. March 6, 1997 IN OUR OPINION Townships won't go away easily Generally speaking, people don't like having popular will overturned by Legislative fiat. Despite the flaws built in to the township law passed in 1996, 15 unincorporated areas statewide voted overwhelmingly to form them. Now those townships have been summarily dissolved by the 1997 Legislature. Petition drives are mounting. Clearly, the issue won't go away so easily. Townships were enticing concepts because they allowed communities to protect themselves against annexations while giving people within those communities a say in local planning issues. But the form that briefly made its way into Utah law was flawed. It made townships too permanent, providing little hope that such communities ever could make the transition into a city or that reasonable annexation proposals could be accepted. A modified township concept is in order, and lawmakers ought to begin studying the best alternatives now. At the least, Utah's counties ought to begin setting up the planning districts allowed for in the new law. That would give areas that formed townships some limited say over local issues. The future of local government in the state's most urban areas along the Wasatch Front should revolve around two important concepts. The first is that communities want control over their own neighborhoods through representative government. The second is that a duplication of services is not in the best interest of taxpayers. They may be separate issues, but they are close cousins. Salt Lake County is on an inevitable course toward wall-to-wall cities. That is as it should be. But inequities will exist as long as some sections of the continuous urban landscape are allowed to remain unincorporated. Those areas won't be given the representation they deserve. Nor will they have control over their own planning destinies. A change in Salt Lake County's form of government would help particularly if it allowed for a county council with members elected from specific geographic areas. But it still would not give specific communities the power they seek. The only way to ensure that kind of control is through incorporation. Which, inevitably, leads to the problem of duplicated services and a lack of efficiencies. The most obvious of these problems involve the several separate and independent fire and police departments operating along the Wasatch Front, each with its own administrative costs and investigative agencies. Salt Lake County voters have consistently rejected the idea of a consolidated county-wide government. The next best thing is to allow neighborhoods a voice in their own futures while preserving the options to incorporate. The township concept was allowed to take root in Utah. It should be returned and crafted to be fair and flexible. Deseret News, March 16, 1997 At a glance Township leaders begin petition drive SALT LAKE CITY - Thirty-five township leaders have urged Gov. Mike Leavitt to veto the bill repealing Utah's township law. It would replace the larger townships with planning districts. However, those districts would not have the power now given to townships to veto annexations and incorporations. "We just want time to prove we're responsible citizens, not militants trying to usurp authority," said Deyonne Walker of East Huntsville Township in Ogden Valley. Township crusaders also launched a petition drive Monday with a rally at the state Capitol. They have 30 days to gather 67,188 signatures to force a vote on HB363, if Leavitt does not veto it. March 18, 1997 72