Greene County taking steps to put renewal bridge levy on November ballot

May 15—Greene County residents will see a renewal levy on the ballot in November that helps pay for maintaining and building new bridges in the county.

Greene County commissioners voted to ask the county auditor to certify the tax valuation for the .25 mill levy, taking the first steps toward getting the measure on the ballot.

The levy covers general construction, reconstruction, maintenance, resurfacing and repair or removal of bridges in all subdivisions of the county.

This five-year renewal levy would expire in 2025.

"This bridge levy has allowed us to keep up maintenance on our bridges for the citizens of Greene County," said Greene County Engineer Stephanie Goff. "With the renewal of the levy, we can continue to keep up the maintenance of our bridges."

This bridge levy has been in place since the 1960′s, Goff said. The last time Greene County voters would have seen this bridge levy on the ballot would have been in the 2016 election.

The Greene County Engineer's office is responsible for nearly 300 bridges around the county on all county roads, township roads and other through routes in the county.

Bridge levy funds in the past have been used to restore historic covered bridges in Greene County, as well as other aging bridge infrastructure.