Metro township

{{Short description|Type of municipal government in Utah}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2023}}

A metro township was a type of municipal government{{Cite web|url=https://www.magnametrotownship.org/community/page/what-metro-township|title=What is a Metro Township? {{!}} Magna Utah|website=www.magnametrotownship.org|access-date=2020-02-22}} 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{{Cite web|url=http://www.sltrib.com/news/politics/2018/02/16/salt-lake-county-township-leaders-soon-may-be-called-mayor/|title=With a stroke of his pen, Utah governor gives township leaders the title of mayor|website=www.sltrib.com|access-date=2020-03-19}} 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{{Cite web|url=http://msd.utah.gov|title=Greater Salt Lake Municipal Services District|website=msd.utah.gov|access-date=2020-03-19}} for most municipal services (police,{{Cite web|url=http://updsl.org/page_about.php|title=Meet the Unified Police Department of Greater Salt Lake|website=updsl.org|access-date=2020-03-18}} for example). The five metro townships{{snd}} all located in Salt Lake County{{snd}} were Kearns,{{Cite web|url=https://www.kmtutah.org|title=Metro Township of Kearns, Utah|website=www.kmtutah.org|access-date=2020-03-20}} Magna,{{Cite web|url=https://www.magnametrotownship.org|title=Metro Township of Magna, Utah|website=www.magnametrotownship.org|access-date=2020-03-18}} Copperton,{{Cite web|url=https://coppertonutah.org|title=Metro Township of Copperton, Utah|website=coppertonutah.org|access-date=2020-03-20}} Emigration Canyon{{Cite web|url=https://www.ecmetro.org|title=Metro Township of Emigration Canyon, Utah|website=www.ecmetro.org|access-date=2020-03-20}} and White City.{{Cite web|url=https://www.whitecity-ut.org|title=Metro Township of White City, Utah|website=whitecity-ut.org|access-date=2020-03-20}} 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.{{cite news|title=Bill would turn Salt Lake Co.'s 5 metro townships into cities, give them taxing authority|first=Jonathan|last=Sharp|publisher=KTVX|location=Salt Lake City|date=February 16, 2024|accessdate=May 13, 2024|url=https://www.abc4.com/news/politics/bill-would-turn-salt-lake-co-s-5-metro-townships-into-cities-give-them-taxing-authority/}}{{cite act|title=Metro Township Modifications|type=House Bill|index=35|date=March 20, 2024|institution=Utah State Legislature|accessdate=May 13, 2024|url=https://le.utah.gov/~2024/bills/static/HB0035.html}}