Town of Clayton board reopens talks on reorganization with Liberty Township; joint meeting planned

The Town of Clayton continued its months-long review of a possible reorganization with adjacent Liberty Township, with council members agreeing to hold a joint meeting with township officials to develop a framework for services, taxes and ballot language.

Speaker 1, who led the council discussion, said the Sheridan–Adams Township merger provided a model the town could adapt. "It would be put on the ballot, for citizens in Clayton and in Liberty Township to vote on themselves," Speaker 1 said, stressing that residents — not just an elected board — would approve any change. The speaker also emphasized the need to ensure the process "is not worse than the disease we're trying to fix," citing concerns about tax impacts and development.

Council members discussed tax-rate differences cited during the presentation: Speaker 1 said Liberty Township residents currently pay about 9¢ per $100 of assessed value while Clayton residents pay about 41¢. The council noted that Sheridan and Adams established two taxing districts after their merger so that older town areas kept their rates, and that approach could be considered here.

The board reviewed conflicting cost figures from other mergers. Speaker 1 relayed a local official's recollection of a "little over $2,000,000" in consultant and outreach costs for one merger, while others who spoke with a consulting firm (a contact identified in the meeting as Todd Bertram) reported costs closer to $550,000–$600,000 for legal and consulting work.

On timing, Speaker 2 said proposals to put a reorganization measure on the November ballot this year "was a little too aggressive" and that 2027 was a more realistic target given the number of meetings and organizational steps required. The council agreed to set up a joint public meeting with the township board and trustee to outline services the reorganized entity would provide, how elected officials would be selected, employee levels and a budget framework.

The council flagged several next steps: circulating the memo from the town attorney to township trustees, collecting documentation on the Sheridan–Adams example, seeking a written estimate of consultant costs, and scheduling the joint meeting publicly as an open session. No formal action to initiate a reorganization was taken at the meeting; members emphasized that a ballot measure would require a documented plan and adherence to the county and state processes before petitioning the county to place the question before voters.

What happens next: staff will share the attorney's memo and coordinate dates for a joint session with township officials to develop a skeleton plan that could support a ballot referral in a future election.