Township trustee tells Saint John council state law adds merger 'point' test but trustee says township not affected

Kathy LaRue, St. John township trustee, briefed the council on two pieces of legislation considered during the recent legislative session and answered council questions about how the laws affect local township services.

LaRue said House Bill 1315 would have eliminated township government by transferring services to towns or counties; that bill passed the House but died in the Senate. She said Senate Bill 270, a township merger bill she described as a point‑system reform, passed both chambers and was signed by the governor on March 5, 2026.

Under the point framework LaRue outlined, a township can accumulate up to 10 points for criteria such as not providing township assistance in 2023–2024, failing to actively manage fire/EMS services, missed annual finance reports or required uploads, rolling budgets forward without new appropriations, having fewer than 24 township assistance applications in 2023–2024, having a certified budget under $100,000 for 2025, or failing to field candidates for trustee or township board offices. LaRue said St. John is unlikely to be affected and that the township runs efficiently.

LaRue provided statistics she said supported that claim: 303 township assistance requests in 2023, 276 in 2024, and a township budget figure she quoted as 1,905,388. She also said combined benefits provided in 2023 amounted to $212,212,497 (as stated in her presentation) and were $232,187 in 2024; she used those figures to argue St. John serves many residents and should not be merged under the new law.

Council members thanked LaRue for the information; no formal council action on township governance was taken at the meeting.