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Ashland County committee directs staff to study county bridge aid policy for town culvert funding
Summary
After town leaders asked the county to re‑examine a county bridge aid program, the Highway Committee voted to have the highway commissioner research policy options, including eligible culvert sizes and funding caps, and report back.
The Ashland County Highway Committee voted to direct the highway commissioner to investigate a county bridge aid policy that would levy funds to assist towns with bridge and large culvert projects. The study will return to the committee with recommended policy language and options.
Commissioner Matt told the committee that Ashland County is one of the few counties in the state that currently lacks a county bridge aid policy, and that several town chairs recently asked the county to revisit the program. "Ashland County is one of only 6 to 7 counties in the state that does not have a bridge aid policy," Matt said. He reported that when he polled towns at a recent meeting, seven of 13 indicated interest in exploring a policy.
Committee members asked whether the county could set caps and asked about the likely tax impact. Matt cited a 2020 analysis (which he said he would update) showing that a $100,000 annual bridge aid fund would have produced mill rate impacts in 2020 in the low‑to‑mid cents per $1,000 of assessed value (Matt cited figures of roughly $0.12 to $0.15 per $1,000 in 2020 for illustrative purposes). Committee members discussed policy options: fixed annual caps, an entitlement-style accounting (towns accumulate preference based on prior contributions), application deadlines for funding, and a contingency pool for emergency failures.
County staff and committee members noted statutory constraints: Dan told the committee the governing statute (cited as Wis. Stat. 82.08) requires culverts/bridges to be 36 inches or larger to qualify under the statutory definition discussed in the meeting. Dan said finance and the county board must approve any tax levy to fund the program because the highway committee would administer the program but cannot unilaterally create a tax levy.
The committee voted to ask the highway commissioner to draft policy options and meet with towns to collect formal town input. The committee discussed timelines for having a policy ready for the 2026 levy; members noted that levying for 2026 would require work and approval by October to appear on the '26 tax levy schedule. Matt said he would rework his earlier 2020 draft, gather town input, and return with recommendations for committee review.
