Inside the Miami County Bridge Levy
Vol. III, No. 115 - This modest tax levy has kept our bridges strong for over seven decades
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For more than half a century, the citizens of Miami County have renewed a quiet but essential promise to themselves: to maintain the bridges that tie our communities together. This commitment, embodied in the Miami County Bridge Levy, has carried the county foward since the 1950s. On November 4th, voters will once again decide its future, but this time the proposal comes with a significant shift. Instead of appearing on the ballot every five years, county officials are asking whether the levy should become continuous—a permanent tool for keeping up with the bridges that span our rivers, streams, and creeks.
At first glance, the idea of a bridge levy may not stir much excitement. It is small, steady, and easy to overlook in the flurry of bigger issues that dominate election seasons. Yet nothing is more fundamental to daily life than infrastructure, including our county’s bridges. Every school bus crossing the Great Miami River, every semitrailer hauling goods through rural townships, every car heading to work in Troy, Tipp City, or Piqua depends on a system of bridges that can be trusted to hold. In Miami County, the levy ensures that trust.
Bridges Across Two Rivers
What makes Miami County unusual—and why the levy remains so vital—is geography. Both the Great Miami River and the Stillwater River cut across the county north to south, joined by a lattice of tributaries and creeks. Sure these waterways create beautiful scenery, but also expense. Bridges are not optional here. They are essential connections for commerce, agriculture, emergency services, and daily life.
Currently, the county maintains 342 bridges. Many were built decades ago, and each one represents both a public investment and an ongoing responsibility. Replacing or even rehabilitating a single structure often costs multiple millions of dollars. Without a dedicated levy, the county would face an almost impossible task. Roads could end up closed or weight-restricted. Farmers might be required take long detours with heavy equipment. Residents could discover familiar routes severed. The levy is what prevents that future.
Why Continuous Funding Matters
Since its adoption in the mid-20th century, the bridge levy has appeared on the ballot every five years. Each time, residents have chosen to renew it. But the policy makers who manage the system are asking voters to consider a different approach this fall: replacing the recurring five-year levy with a continuous one.
The reason is straightforward. Each time the county submits the levy to voters, it spends roughly $20,000 on election costs. That is money not spent on concrete, steel beams, or construction crews. The expense shows up in the real world: taxpayers pay for bureaucratic repetition rather than physical improvements. County Engineer Paul Huelskamp and the Board of Commissioners argue that a continuous levy would end this cycle. Those dollars could shift directly into the bridge program.
Beyond costs, there is another consideration: time. The lifespan of a bridge stretches from 75 to 100 years. Serious infrastructure planning takes decades, not terms of office. A continuous levy guarantees that engineers won’t be guessing about their budgets every five years. Instead, they can plan projects well into the future with the certainty that funds will be there when the beams and decks inevitably wear out.
Leveraging Federal Dollars
The levy raises between $1 million and $1.3 million annually, depending on the certified millage rate. This proposal would set a maximum of 0.40 mills, slightly lower than the current 0.45 mills. Standing alone, that revenue is not nearly enough for the biggest projects. One major bridge replacement can easily run in the millions of dollars. But the genius of the levy has always been its ability to leverage federal programs.
Here is how it works: most federal bridge funds require a local match. In many cases, that match is set at 20 percent. So if Miami County wants to replace a $1 million bridge, it must put forward $200,000. With levy funds in hand, the county meets the local requirement, and the federal government contributes the other $800,000. Without the levy, there is no local match—and without that match, there is no federal money.
This is the multiplier effect behind what Commissioner Greg Simmons has called Miami County’s “success story” in local media reports. A modest local tax base draws millions more in federal aid.
Recent examples are visible to anyone traveling the roads. The Peterson Road Bridge north of Troy was replaced with federal help unlocked by levy funds. . It is an efficient and locally accountable system, one that ensures every dollar of levy money flows directly into bridge construction or repair. Wages and administrative costs are not paid from it.
Balancing Accountability and Stability
Not every county commissioner embraced the idea of a continuous levy without some hesitation. Commissioner Wade Westfall voiced reservations, emphasizing the value of asking voters to affirm the levy every few years. The recurring vote, he argued, reinforced transparency and accountability for the program. Yet in the end, he too supported the measure, noting that the decades old program is well established and that the shift will ultimately save money while protecting critical infrastructure.
This tension—between direct accountability and long-term stability—lies at the heart of the November 4th decision. Some voters may share Westfall’s initial hesitation. Others may see the continuous levy as an act of prudence, a way to stretch dollars further at a time when every taxpayer contribution counts. Either way, the choice belongs to the residents.
A Vote That Shapes the Next Century
When Miami County voters go to the polls this fall, the ballot will not feature a flashy proposal. Instead, it will present a familiar local tool in an updated form. But the implications will echo long past Election Day. The bridges maintained by this levy will still be carrying school buses, ambulances, farm machinery, and families seventy or eighty years from now.
Infrastructure demands patience and foresight. It also demands trust: trust that elected officials will use funds as promised, and trust that neighbors will step up together to maintain what everyone depends on. The Bridge Levy has been that instrument since the 1950s. For decades, this tool has been quietly working to create safer bridges in the county for a nominal investment from county property owners.
No one enjoys paying taxes. But to live in a county where our bridges are severely underfunded could not only cause more traffic headaches, it could also cause tragedy. Overall, the state of America’s infrastructure is generally poor and briges represent a large portion of that failing infastructure. This bridge levy is a proactive way that we can leverage local dollars to ensure federal investments are made to keep our bridges to standard.
This November, the decision rests in the hands of residents. Whether you are new to the county or have lived here your whole life, the question deserves your attention. The bridges we build and preserve are not only structures of steel and stone. They are the bonds that connect a community—links between townships, cities, and generations.
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