Residents, trustees clash over proposed merger of New Durham, Center and Springfield townships

Trustee Kelly Tanger proposed a voluntary merger of New Durham, Center and Springfield townships during a public meeting focused on preserving township assistance as state funding tightens. Tanger, who said she spends most of her time on township assistance (poor relief) and ensuring fire protection, told residents the plan would keep existing township boundaries but treat the three as one administrative unit, reduce overhead, and create satellite offices so residents would not have to travel to Springfield for services.

The proposal is framed as a response to recent state-level changes. Tanger told the meeting she has followed developments, cited concerns about Senate Bill 1 and declining funding, and said the merger would let trustees "be more efficient, and we're gonna be able to provide more services." She also sought to correct misconceptions, saying the merger "does not restructure our fire departments" and that taxes "are not going up with this merger" though savings would be modest.

Lydia, a truste…