Rural townships across Michigan are struggling to fill core positions and are facing mounting financial strain, yet the bills designed to ease that pressure have failed to gain momentum in Lansing, according to a new report from Bridge Michigan.
Two pieces of legislation aimed at supporting the state's 1,240 townships have stalled in committee, and officials warn that without intervention, the state's front line of government, which handles elections and property taxes, could face a crisis.
House Bill 5717, introduced by Rep. Jennifer Wortz, R-Quincy, would allow townships to hire an election-certified clerk from outside the township when the clerk position is vacant or the sitting clerk is not certified to run elections. The bill passed the Republican-controlled House in June but has not been picked up by the Senate.
Vacancies are becoming a persistent problem. No one is running for clerk, the position that runs elections, in Hawes Township in Alcona County, Day Township in Montcalm County, Fayette Township in Hillsdale County, or Courtland Township in Kent County.
Wortz said changes in election law, such as mandated early voting days, have added to the reasons part-time rural township clerks resign.
A second set of bills introduced by Rep. Bill Schuette, R-Midland, and Rep. Amos O'Neal, D-Saginaw, would appropriate $3.5 million to provide back-office help with finance, human resources, and information technology. Many township jobs are low-paid, part-time positions that have become more complicated with increased state reporting requirements.
The bills were introduced in August 2025 and have never had a hearing. Schuette suggested Democrats were to blame, while O'Neal pointed to Republican leadership in the House.
"Government doesn't move every time you introduce a bill," O'Neal said. "When you believe something is important to your constituents, you keep making the case for it."
A recent University of Michigan survey found that more than 75 percent of townships and villages report increasing difficulty filling mandatory elected positions. The same survey documented growing financial strain in local governments, particularly in rural regions of the state.
Linda Paradiso, clerk of Houghton Township in the Upper Peninsula, said the township is holding on by a thread. "We're meeting our responsibilities, but it's a mess," she said.
Sen. John Cherry, D-Flint, who was recently given an award by the Michigan Township Association, said the state needs to have a serious discussion about local government efficiency. "Can we keep government close to people but also improve efficiencies of local government?" Cherry said. "It's a discussion we need to have in a serious way, but we haven't had it to date."
Former Rep. Jack O'Malley, R-Lake Ann, who joined the Legislature in 2019, said he learned quickly that Up North issues are often on the back burner in Lansing. "The vast majority of the House of Representatives is from urban and well-populated areas," O'Malley said. "They really don't get the rural problems we have."
The Michigan Township Association supports the Wortz bill but stops short of calling for major reform, such as merging small townships. Executive Director Tom Hickson said 99 percent of townships do not have the problems that the rural outliers face.
O'Neal said the challenges facing rural communities will get worse without state action. "If we don't do anything, I think the challenges facing rural communities will get worse," he said. "They deserve a state that takes their challenges seriously, invests in their future and gives them the tools to succeed."
The Legislature, which runs a year-round session, is expected to take up additional legislation before the November general election, when voters will choose all 38 state senators, all 110 House seats, and the governor.