Henry County OKs small tax hike for bridges

“We’re just putting it back to where it was 10 years ago,” commissioner Kim Cronk said Wednesday.

Henry County Highway Department engineer Joe Copeland asked for the increase. He said the Indiana Department of Local Government Finance lowered the rate this year and said the highway department was already struggling to keep up with repairs because of a lack of funds.

“I need this for culvert and bridge replacement projects,” Copeland said. “I’ve got them lined up and we’re trying to replace them as inexpensively as possible and still get a good product that will last for many years.”

Copeland said the increase should bring in about $300,000 in additional revenue.

The highway engineer recently presented the county leaders with a lengthy list of bridge replacement or rehabilitation projects he said were priorities. That list called for one replacement or rehab per year. Copeland said many of the local bridges date back to the 1950s and ’60s and that they aren’t designed to last forever.

Henry County Auditor Pat French said she has been in contact with the DLGF regarding the idea of returning the bridge fund rate to its previous level and that the state indicated they had no problem with doing so. The levy increase will begin after it has been approved by the state.